


RWBY - Rebirth

by no1special138



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, More plot than porn, Post-Canon, Post-Salem, Still Porn Though
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-10
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:35:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 40,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22654114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/no1special138/pseuds/no1special138
Summary: Two decades after Salem's defeat, Remnant is a very different place. Tensions between the five kingdoms (with the elevation of Menagerie) are at an all time low. Magic slowly works its way back into the world, a blessing to some and a cause for fear and bigotry to others. The Grimm remain an ever present threat, driven wild and shifting at alarming rates without their mistress to control their inner darkness. But the huntsmen academies still remain, shining beacons of hope and truimph against the dark. Yet, another threat appears to drag the world back to an era of mistrust and chaos. The Reborn, followers of the Rebirth movement, believe that for Remnant to truly transform itself, the old world must be burned away. Their true objectives are known to a limited few but they have been hording magical knowledge, sources of power, and people with natural magical talent. The former members of team RWBY have moved on with their lives but have grown closer than ever. Through a combination of magic and science the two couples were able to combine their aura's and conceive children of their own. Being born into the limelight is never easy. Especially when it allows lurkers in the shadows to see you that much more easily.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Original Characters - Relationship, Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee
Comments: 8
Kudos: 25





	1. The Sisters

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time posting to this site. So please, leave a comment, a criticism, sarcasm, lavishing praise, or soul crushing truth. Sexual content won't be for awhile as I'm more interested in putting down the story in my head than anything else, though that does include some sexy times. Also, if anyone notices any gross misuse of foreign languages please message me, preferably with a workable alternative. I'm working with very limited knowledge while trying to make good names for characters in languages that I'm not familiar with.

It was deathly silent in the dark alley as the hooded figure loomed steadily on her path. Well, actually you could hear the sounds of cars passing nearby. And it was around noon so really the alley was just shadier than the surrounding streets. And the hooded girl didn't really loom very much given how short she was. Still, it was a creepy alley and she was moving with slow confidence so as to not look like a victim. She knew her height (or lack there of) made her look like an easy target and she wanted to avoid a fight. She kept her hoodie zipped up and her sunglasses high on her nose and strolled between the buildings like this was a shortcut she took every day.

There were four men (boys really, around her own age) waiting for her. There clothing was old, so stained and worn that their original colors were impossible to discern. Yet the boys themselves were washed, their haircuts expensive, if simple. They were probably well off and did this to get extra allowance money because mommy and daddy wouldn't buy them all the toys they wanted. Whatever. They'd serve her purpose and she'd be gone in a flash.

"That's far enough," one of the called out.

He spoke with an air of authority but without a hint of violence. He wasn't asking, but he wasn't looking for trouble either. She stopped about twenty feet away from him. Her eyes scanned from behind her dark lenses. The alley lacked anywhere to hide but she didn't have a good line of sight to the rooftops. These kids looked about as threatening as the daily newspaper but that didn't mean there weren't more dangerous elements waiting where she couldn't see.

She held up her hands and said, "Take it easy. Let's not make this complicated."

She reached into a pocket and held up a wad of lien all rolled up and held together with a rubber band. The main guy nodded and gestured to one of his guys who held up a paper bag and shook it. The contents made a light scratching sound and easily shifted with the slight motion.

"You packing any heat?" asked the main dealer.

She rolled her eyes and padded the folded pieces of crimson metal that adorned her hips. He chuckled and shook his head.

"You one of those Signal kids? Got a big test coming up or something?"

Her eye twitch behind her glasses. Signal?! She'd graduated already! Was she so short he thought she was a little kid?! Hmph! If she'd had her hoodie unzipped he wouldn't make that mistake! If she weren't purposefully hiding her figure he'd have trouble maintaining eye contact with how not-like-a-kid she was! And if it weren't so dark in this alley he'd see that beneath her skirt were legs that, while not long, were still the shapely stems of a young woman! Whatever. Not like she was looking for a date. Let this idiot think she was younger than she really was. If he got picked up by the cops and ratted out his costumers they'd be looking for the wrong girl.

When she didn't answer he grabbed the bag, walked halfway to her, and set it on the ground before walking back to his crew. She slowly approached the bag, eyes still glancing around for signs of activity. She first placed the money beside the bag. Then she opened it and saw her prize. It smelled like dry hay, which she'd been told to expect by the internet. Pleased, she stood still as the main dealer approached and picked up his money. She waited patiently as he counted it out in front of her, not feeling offended given her own mistrust of the boy.

He smiled at the amount and said, "Pleasure doing business with you."

She nodded and tried to leave but he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You know, you're a lot cuter up close..."

She rolled her eyes and thought, 'Oh, for the love of...'

"There's more where came from, you know. I think we could..."

His hand started to trail up to her face. She grabbed it and tossed it aside with ease. She was about to tell him off when a voice came bellowing down the alley.

"Unhand her, you knave!"

She winced. Only two people on all of Remnant talked like that. One should be in Atlas right now. That only left...

The five of them all looked down the alley to the figure who had suddenly appeared. She was an imposing sight, despite not being all that tall herself. Her skin was pale even in the shade of the alley but her long hair which fanned out behind her was white as snow. She wore a white blouse and a dark blue vest with a blooming white rose over her heart. The gloves were a match to the vest just as the tight fitting trousers matched her shirt. Pale gray boots clicked as she took two careful steps closer to the group. She had two swords on both of her hips and four more creating an X along her back and shoulders for a total of eight weapons. Her visor projectors were small disks that fit snuggly over her ears and she already had the hard light display up, a pale blue field of translucent light revealing nothing of the display it would be showing her. Even through the glow of her visor her eyes stood out, impossible to miss even from the fifty or so feet that separated them. They were silver.

"I can handle this myself!" the red hooded girl hissed through her teeth.

"Hey, who's this chick?!"

The dealers had all frozen up except for one. He produced a small pistol from his pocket, sides glowing an angry orange from the burst Dust inside. In an instant, the girl in the red hoodie dropped her paper bag, drew one of her weapons, and turned to face the shaking boy. The mostly rectangular shape in her hand quickly shifted, elongating and placing more weight to the front. The front unfolded to reveal a curved blade, a scythe whose blunt end was decorated with twisting vines and blooming flowers.

"Hey, asshole! Don't point a gun at my sister! Let's just all calm down and..."

A sharp sound make her look down. The main dealer had stepped on her paper bag, crushing the contents under his muddy heel. He leapt back to the safety of his crew, each of them drawing out pistols of the same design as the first.

"That's what you get for fucking up our deal, bitch!"

Slowly, the hooded girl reached up with her free hand and took off her sunglasses to reveal her eye shimmering silver eyes. Then she unzipped her hoodie to show off, in addition to her feminine assets, the dark tank top beneath. On the stomach section was a bright red circular pattern that could have been either a snowflake or the sun giving off rays of light. In a blur she drew her second weapon, a match to the first in every way but plumage. For while Spring had been decorated with images of life, Fall bore clawing tree limbs and a few scattered, falling leaves. As Summer Schnee pointed her weapons and frustrations at her would-be dealers her sister, Winter Rose, crossed her arms in front of her chest. The controls on her gloves activated the green glowing dust in the hilts of her swords and drew them as if invisible hands had gripped them all at once. She uncrossed her arms and the blades began a slow, spinning dance around her, tips pointed to her quarry.

Five minutes later the sisters were walking briskly down the street while police sirens sounded behind them. Winter was scowling and huffing. Summer felt bad for upsetting her sister but didn't particularly feel bad about what she'd been trying to do. She also didn't feel bad about grabbing her cash back after that asshole had stepped all over her stuff.

"...It was just a little Desert Weed."

"Which is illegal in Vale!"

"It's been legal in Vacuo since, like, forever! And everyone says they're gonna pass that new law soon to legalize it here! It's not even as bad as alcohol, which is perfectly legal!"

"And if I'd caught you drinking a day before our entrance exam, I'd still be yelling at you! What in the world were you thinking?!"

Summer put her hands in her pockets and frown at the ground as they walked.

"I just wanted to take some of the edge off, that's all..."

Winter stopped scowling as her eyebrows went up, "You're nervous about exams? Since when?"

Summer had always shown a calm detachment to tests. She still studied and trained, just not with the frantic determination of the anxious. Their mothers had always given them a strict schedule not only for practicing and studying but also for breaks and fun. At least, mother had always insisted that mom's interruptions to play outside (usually in a way that left them either soaked or covered in mud) were planned. Winter was concerned for her sibling and stopped their escape from the fight scene, placing a hand on Summer's shoulder.

Summer sighed and said, "If we fail... we'll never live it down."

Winter blinked, "Since when do you care what other people think?"

"I don't! But this is different. If Ruby Rose's daughter don't get into Beacon, first try, flying colors, it'll be everywhere! We won't be able to go anywhere without people recognizing us and knowing that we didn't live up to the hype!"

Winter embraced her sister and felt Summer's arms slowly envelope her.

"It's alright," she said softly. "This isn't any different than anything else we've faced. Beacon admits people for their skills, not because they accidently answered B instead of C on a question. And if the past ten minutes have shown anything it's that we're more skillful than your average drug dealer."

Summer chuckled and ended the hug. She forced out a deep breath and shook herself.

"Okay! No more thinking about it! We deal with each moment as it comes!"

"To the transit station, then? Best to be early. Punctuality is important!"

Summer looked down the lane towards the station but something caught her eye. Winter noticed and followed her gaze. Both of them started walking before either had spoken.

"Maybe a quick detour..."

"We still have time..."

The door to the bakery chimed once as they entered together.

Meanwhile, across town...

A swarm of dark suited men and women stood in a circle. All of them carried a weapon in each hand, either a pair of pistols, illegally modded with runes that were supposed to make them more deadly (but actually just glowed a menacing shade of green), or a pair of red bladed hatchets, perfect for cutting off the hands of unpaying customers.

Within the circle stood a pair of young women. The first stood with a set of fine katanas in her hands. Each had a hand gaurd made to look like a dark sun with flames radiating outward. Her jet black hair was long and straight, coming down to the small of her back. She wore a Mystral style top in black with white lining and white ties that knotted the garment closed at her hips and left a window of cleavage. Her only other clothing was a pair of flat wooden sandals and some black shorts. Though she'd never admit it, she liked how if she stood and walked just the right way the shorts would disappear beneath her long top. But today she appreciated her look for the mobility it allowed her.

Beside her was her contrast. Golden blond hair cascaded down in a waterfall of curls. Her yellow top connected around the back and looped around her neck but left her arms, abs, and shoulders exposed. The window of her shoulder blades displayed a tattoo of a raging fireball whose center was the face of a roaring, slashing tiger. She wore a black skirt that came down above her knees and a pair of low heeled shoes that wrapped her feet like sandals. Her weapon was still stowed away in its compact form at the small of her back. While the girl next to her snarled at their assailants, the blond held her hands up in a placating gesture and searched frantically through the crowd.

No one would have guessed at a relation between the them if not for two things. They both had shining amber eyes that smoldered like fires beneath the earth. And while the colors were different, each had a set of hair covered cat ears that popped out from the tops of their heads.

"Babe!" the blond cried out. "Can you come explain this little misunderstanding?"

"Hu-Huo!" snarled the dark haired swordswoman. "She is not your girlfriend! They pay her to drag people in here to lose their money!"

"Exactly."

The sea of identical suits parted to allow a new figure to pass through them. Her suit was nearly identical to that if her security force, except that she wore it much more casually, without the jacket and with the vest unbuttoned. Her hair was black and cut into short bangs. Her face was hard and humorless, her ire revealed by her stiff steps.

"I don't let people in here so they can cheat me out of my winnings."

"I didn't cheat!" shouted Hu-Huo. "And Alessandra, you don't know her like I do! Babe?! Where are you?!"

The newcomer furrowed her brow and turned to Alessandra.

"Is this girl serious?"

Alessandra sighed, "Completely."

Her sister "fell in love" about once a month, sometimes once a week. If it wore a skirt and had pretty eyes, Hu would be hearing wedding bells. Normally it wasn't a big deal. Hu would spot a cute waitress or crossing guard, confess her feelings on the spot, get a confused and adamant rejection, sulk for an hour, and the episode would be over until next time. Alessandra had always worried what would happen when Hu fell for a girl willing to take advantage of her affections. Tonight it had gotten her roped into the Den, Vale's hottest illegal gambling establishment. It was the worst kept secret in the city since Ebony Xiong, the owner, mostly kept to her own corner of the underworld. But in this place, she was queen. It didn't matter if Hu cheated or not, which Alessandra was sure she didn't. If Ebony said she did, that was all anyone needed to hear.

"Look, this doesn't have to get messy," said Alessandra in an even tone. "Hu just wanted to have fun. She'll turn in her winnings, everyone walks away breaking even."

Ebony scowled, "I don't break even. Instead, how about my people break the two of you in half?"

"Just get Avery!" Hu pleaded. "She'll vouch for me!"

Ebony nodded towards something behind the crowd and a girl emerged. She wore a fiery red and yellow Mystral dress, very short, and kept her hair tied up with two chopsticks.

"You bring this girl into my place?"

"Uh, yes, miss. It's my job. I just brought her in and got her to buy some drinks. That's all."

Hu's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. Alessandra felt a stab of empathetic pain for her sister but now wasn't the time to be distracted.

"Did you see her cheat?"

The girl eyed Hu's decistated face then looked back at Ebony's scowl.

"If you say she cheated, miss, then she must have."

Before another word could be spoken Ebony snapped her fingers and the swarm moved in. Knowing her sister would need a moment to draw her weapon, Alessandra moved in a circuit around her, blades coming out wide to ward off attackers. But Hu was taking her time, tears swelling in her eyes, knuckles turning white as she clenched her fists. So Alessandra grabbed her by the waist and activated her semblance. In a streaking blur they shot straight upward. Below, several of the goons had accidently shot at their allies while trying to hit the pair. Alessandra stood atop a crystal chandelier, her sister held at her waist like an oversized pet. Avery was the first to spot them.

"Up there!"

The goons with guns pointed upward. Ebony's eyes went wide.

"No! You idiots! Don't...!"

A haul of bullets tore the crystal and delicate golden arches of the chandelier into a dazzling array of prismatic shards. The chandelier came crashing to the ground in a screeching heap, flames dancing across it from modified burst Dust designed to stick to the target. The gangsters all stared into the flames, weapons at the ready.

"You idiots! I am taking the cost of repairs out of all of your..."

Ebony's shout gradually faded at the sight emerging from the flames. A single figure appeared and slowly stepped through the flames, not bothered at all as they kicked at her flesh. Tears now dried, Hu-Huo stood in the center of the wreckage, hair aglow as if it too was a burning mass. Her weapon, Amore, was now fully extended and rested against her shoulder as she held it in one hand. The kanabo was a long piece of brown metal made to look like wood. The upper half was twice as thick as the lower half, all one long handle with a black grip, and was dotted with large, golden spheres of the toughest materials that emerged from the weapon.

"You...! You...! You liar!"

Hu wailed and took up her weapon in two hands, charging straight into the horde of suits. Though stunned for a moment, they quickly recovered and moved to fire a volley at her. That's when Allesandra emerged from the shadows. With her semblance, she appeared in an instant and began hacking into their ranks. A few of them got off shots, two of which hit Hu. Two small fires appeared on her arm and chest but she didn't slow. In fact, the fires seemed to dim while her hair glowed even brighter. Sensing her sister's approach, Alessandra put down a few more scrubs then leapt up and backwards in a flip over the charging ball of flame and fury.

Hu slammed her kanabo down in the midst of the gangsters and released a trigger. The floor shattered into a crater that swallowed them all and an unlucky few were caught in the blast of flame that spouted from the tip of the weapon like a geyser of orange-yellow magma. Not finished with her rage, Hu swing the club out, catching three fighters and sending them flying. Still in the air, Alessandra caught one and threw him back into the crowd. They all stepped aside and allowed their comrade to slam hard into the ground. Too late, they noticed the glowing hilt of a small knife, a kunai, tucked into his belt. The Dust exploded and yet more flames began consuming the establishment.

Ebony watched in horror as her work literally went up in flames around her.

"My old man is gonna be so pissed!"

With an area cleared around her, Alessandra descended to where her sister stood and began darting in and out, striking down any threats that got too close. This gave Hu-Huo the change to shift her weapon to its other setting, a stout cannon she held low at her hip. She used focused bursts of Dust that exploded on impact to break up distant groups of enemies then used the pure flamethrower style of fire to simple damage whatever she could.

"What kind of place is this that toys with a maiden's heart?!" she roared.

Five minutes later the pair were walking quickly down the street while sirens rang out behind them.

"I'm sorry..." Hu murmured. "I know I did it again..."

Alessandra sighed and patted her shoulder.

"I don't blame you for feeling or expressing yourself. You just have to pay attention to the context. You want a girl who likes you for you, right? So, you have to make sure that's the only reason she likes you, above and beyond anything else."

"I know... It's just so hard. When I get that feeling it just takes over. It feels so wonderful to meet someone and connect with them, you know?"

Alessandra said nothing. She did not, in fact, know what love, or even infatuation, felt like. She wanted it desperately and envied her sister's burning passion, her zeal for love and life. But she had a duty. To protect the people of Remnant and, first among them, her little sister.

"Well, tomorrow we'll be at Beacon and you can..."

Hu gasped, "I totally forgot! Beacon! The heaven of romance and excitement! The perfect place to fall for a dashing young huntress! Or an experienced older student! I can't wait!"

Alessandra smiled, her job completed. Hu loved the idea of meeting "the one" at Beacon and falling madly in love while on some important mission, just like their parents did. Alessandra was open to such thoughts, but she knew her purpose. She was a defender of humanity (which she included to also mean the faunus). Her dreams had always centered around bringing an end to the threat of the Grimm, to the entire world being able to move into a bright and glorious future because it had her looking out for it. Although, if she had a blushing bride waiting for her at home, that wouldn't be so bad either...

Later that night, somewhere dark and cold...

"So, how did it go?"

"It hurt, that's how it went. Never got the shit kicked out of me for a little Desert Weed. The deal with the first one went down smooth but once the other one showed up it all went to hell. We were in no shape to run when the cops showed up. How'd you spring me and my guys so fast, anyway?"

"You're new to this line of work, aren't you kid? Don't ask the boss those sorts of questions."

"And you? The fire was all over the news but the details were difficult to come by."

"That'll be Ebony and her family's work. The blond was easy to manipulate but the other one wasn't having it. Stone cold, cuts through bullshit like a knife."

"And dedicated to her sister?"

"Oh, yeah. Regular guard dog, that one. Seen it before."

"Hey, um, if it's okay to ask?"

"Go ahead."

"What do you plan on doing to these girls?"

"Nothing at all. I'm only going to help them realize their true purposes."


	2. Entrance Exams

"Students. Allow me to first congratulate you on your successes thus far."

Everyone stood in four rows atop a plateau far from the school grounds. Everyone except the teachers, who stood in a loose group a few feet away near a series of monitors, and Headmistress Goodwitch, who paced before the students.

"You have proven yourselves in your previous combat schools, passed the preliminary written tests, and come bearing high recommendations from teachers and huntsmen alike. However," she ended her pacing and looked out at the crowd of students. "All those laurels mean exactly nothing now. Today is a pass or fail scenario, just as the life of a huntsmen or huntress is about life or death."

Goodwitch turned her gaze and all the students followed suite. A few dozen feet away, the gaping dark maw of an abandoned series of tunnels stood waiting for them. Alessandra, in the back row but closest to the cave entrance, steeled herself. That was the gate to her destiny. In the front (thankfully not having their view blocked by taller students) Summer and Winter stood a few spaces apart. They kept stealing glances at the gaggle of teachers staring at them, assessing them. Hu, much to her sister's dismay, was already checking out the other girls, very obviously, and probably hadn't heard a word the Headmistress had said.

"Unlike the old days, we will be closely monitoring your progress via cameras set up throughout the facility." She gestured towards the screens the teachers gathered around. "Your teammates will be selected, not randomly assigned, to best help you grow into capable warriors. This may mean someone you work well with, someone who compensates for your weaknesses, or someone you don't like and who will force you to mature and learn to work with whatever options are available to you."

"Excuse me? Headmistress Goodwitch?"

A boy in the third row raised his hand and wriggled in place to get her attention. Goodwitch stared at him, eyes like lasers behind her wiry frames. Her hair was tied up and back and her roots were a consistent shade of white that faded to her natural blond.

"I did not give you permission to speak."

An awkward silence blew through on cold winds. The boy just kept staring at her, arm raised, as if he didn't understand the comment. Goodwitch pinched the bridge if her nose and sighed.

"Go ahead."

Finally lowering his arm, the boy asked, "Aren't some of the teachers missing? I was really looking forward to meeting..."

Goodwitch cut him off, "Professor Rose has elected to remove herself from the panel so as to avoid the appearance of preferential treatment. No more talking."

The students all looked around, seeking answers in the faces of others and finding only confused glances in return. Summer tried to keep her head down and her hood up without drawing attention to herself. She silently thanked Goodwitch for her brief response and stoic expression. She didn't even look at her or her sister despite them being in the front row. None of the four of them wanted special treatment for who their mothers were. And it looked like Headmistress Goodwitch felt the same way.

"Your task is simple. Retrieve a flag bearing the Vale emblem and return to the surface before nightfall. These tunnels, however, are crawling with Grimm. Use whatever methods you believe to be best to accomplish your goal. Work in teams or as individuals, utilize stealth or direct combat. Play to your strengths. Just remember that we are judging whether or not you will make good huntsmen and huntresses. Whatever you believe that means, try to show us why you exemplify it."

Summer swallowed. She was afraid of this. If the test was just "get out alive" she'd be fine. But she had to show them...something. She didn't know what they were looking for. Teamwork? Strength? Tactical thinking? Cunning? Survival skills? She told herself that with so many possibilities her best bet was to just follow her instincts and hope for the best. But the doubt gnawed at her like termites in the back of her skull.

Alessandra, meanwhile, knew precisely what to do. She would eliminate the Grimm, assist her fellow students, and complete her objective. She had no anxiety, only the thrill of anticipation. This was the beginning of a great and noble journey.

Winter worried for her sister. She stole a few glances and saw the worry creasing her face. She resolved to team up with her and help show the teachers how amazing she was. As much as she wanted to be a huntress, it would be meaningless without her sister at her side. They would pass or fail together, she decided.

Hu was bursting with excitement. So. Much. Potential! At least half the class, maybe more, were girls, and every one of them had their own unique flavor of awesome! One girl was tall and powerful looking and she just wanted to be carried off in her arms. Another was small and cute and she just wanted to pinch her cheeks and shower her in kisses. This was the beginning of a beautiful story. She just had to play her part and she knew her princess would find her.

"Headmistress, can I ask another...?"

"No."

With a wave of her hand Headmistress Glynda Goodwitch called upon her semblance in over a dozen places at once. Beneath the feet of each student, carefully placed in neat rows upon arrival, a trap door opened into a steep chute. The chorus of surprised screams faded almost immediately to imperceptibility. Professor Port approached his colleague and stared down one such chute. It was dark and he while he noted the slight curve he could not see where it actually turned to safely slide the student downward.

"You enjoy this far too much," he opined.

Glynda smirked, "I know."

With a flick of her wrist she reset the doors, sealing the children within the monster infested tunnels. Long ago, when they'd first started working together, Peter Port was frightened of Glynda. Now, after serving beside her for years and under her as Headmistress, he was absolutely terrified of her.

...

Winter's shouts of distress were overpowered by the sounds of her many sword hilts scraping off the stone as she slid deeper into the mines. On the bright side, the sparks provided a source of light as she plummeted to her doom. It took several seconds for the shock to wear off but once she'd regained her wits she summoned a glyph beneath her. The white symbol turned a dark gray then black as it clung to her, trying to slow her descent. It shattered under the strain but slowed her down enough that she could control her sliding with her hands and feet.

She came to a stop just as the cramp tunnel begin to light up from an exit not far in front of her and straight down. Her rump was sore from all the sliding and she was thankful she didn't wear skirts. Even a weighted combat skirt, designed to stay in place during battle, would have a hard time not ruffling up in this situation. Granted, no one was here to see her would be embarrassment, but she was always cautious about such things.

She crawled forward and found that there was indeed an exit to the chute that would have deposited her straight down about twenty feet. She hung down as best she could before dropping. She found herself in a large chamber connecting several tunnels. Seven different avenues were laid out before her in a rough circle. The walls of the chamber were dimly lit by old wired lamps burning a pale yellow kind of dust. It would provide light for almost as long as it had electricity but wouldn't give off a bright shine. In the center of the chamber was a small flag bearing two crossed axes. She took it and tucked it away into a back pocket. That was one job done. Now, which way to go to find Summer...?

...

Summer felt like she was gonna be sick. She hated roller coasters and this was like a roller coaster with you as a carriage and it was almost pitch black. Her skirt also kept kicking up in the front and blocking what little she could see. Thankfully the back stayed pinned between her and the chute or else she'd have some pretty bad burns in a not great place.

When the chute finally spat her out somewhere she summoned a stack of a dozen glyphs and smashed through half of them as they slowed her momentum. She sat atop them, dismissing all but the one that supported her, and caught her breath. Off to the side she spotted something embedder in the wall and took it. It was the flag she'd been sent to find. She sighed and stowed it then closed her eyes.

She listened carefully and could hear distant yells and a gunshot or two. But she couldn't tell if any of them were Winter or her cousins. If they teamed up this would be a cinch. They'd trained together for hundreds, maybe thousands of hours. She knew when she could rely on Winter to send a sword out to finish off a foe, where to cover Hu when she was swinging her club around, how to move in tandem with Al to form a four-armed dervish of steel. But as she stared down the two dimly lit tunnels at opposite sides of where she sat she realized she had almost no hope of finding them.

A distant howl reminded her that all her moping would only attract Grimm. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, forcing her emotions aside. Fighting was like breathing to her. Survival was like a second language. She could do this.

"Huh. I wouldn't have guessed you liked pink."

Her eyes shot open, weapons leaping to her grasp, as she stared downward at the source of the voice.

...

Hu squealed in delight as she zoomed down the surprise slide. This was awesome! She had to adjust on the fly so Amore wouldn't get in the way but once she was settled in she let momentum take her where she needed to go. She was spat out of a wall at high speed and dove from the exit, arms out wide to catch the wind. She landed in a roll and spun four times before coming to a complete stop. Then she stood up, lifted her arms in triumph, and hooted in exhilaration!

"That was so cool!"

She was at the bottom of some kind of pit and her voice echoed around her. She took a moment to laugh in pure enjoyment then got to business. This place was dangerous so she got Amore into her hands and inspected her surroundings. She wasn't exactly in a pit but rather a very steep dead end tunnel. Despite the sharp incline she was sure she could easily climb out and start searching for the...And speak of the devil! There were not one but two flags planted by her feet! She snagged them both but paused. Why were there two?

An echoing cry made her crane her neck upwards. The lanterns hanging along the sides of the tunnel were dim but still offered her a good view of the angel in her descent. From this angle, all Hu could make out was a pair of kicking legs contained within pure white stockings. She also saw creaming skin from thighs and tummy plus, she swallowed hard, a set of pure white undies including a garter that held up the stockings! The kicking was accompanied by more screaming and soon Hu learned why she couldn't see more of her angel. The girl fell directly onto Hu, crashing them both onto the stone with the girl on top.

Beacon was the greatest place on Remnant!

...

Alessandra's chute shot her out at an upward angle, firing her up into the air as she came into a massive cavern of some kind. She emerged with her blades in hand, spinning to both control her flight and to ward off potential attackers. She landed in a slide and took in her surroundings. Piles of dirt and rock littered the cavern, limiting what even her faunus eyes could see in the low light. A human would have much more difficulty seeing since the lights, already poor sources of illumination, were strung along the walls, far from the center of this huge space. She stopped focusing on her eyes and instead listened. Labored breathing and the sounds of scratching told her that someone was fighting nearby. But they would have to wait since a ticking noise was approaching her from behind.

She leapt straight up and spun herself around, left hand leading in a blind swipe that deflected something from hitting her. She cringed at the sight of the creature before her. It was a bulbous beetle the size of a scooter, its red eyes and white, bony face area marking it as a creature of Grimm. Its mandibles clicked and dripped an ooze which sizzled when it dribbled onto the stone floor. The creature hissed and stood its ground while she landed and took measure of it. Why wasn't it attacking? And what had she swatted aside a moment ago?

Her answer came when the creature opened the plates along its back to reveal not wings, but two long tendrils covered and tipped in white spikes. It was a mutant, a variation of Grimm that had survived long enough to transform in some hideous and unnatural way. Ever since Salem was destroyed they started popping up, becoming ever more dangerous.

It whipped them both at incredible speed in her direction. She held up her swords in pure reflex and felt the sharp projectiles bounce off the flats of her blades so hard it sent ripples of pain down to her shoulders. The creature reared its tendrils back again for another assault but she wouldn't give it the chance. Using her semblance she darted forward and skewered the creature between the eyes with her right blade, the shorter and faster of the two. It released an awful, almost sad screech as it poured corrosive spittle across the floor. As she pulled back the sword she slashed out and across with her left blade to sever its tendrils for good measure. The Grimm shuttered and collapsed, already returning to dust.

She almost relaxed. But both of her parents had taught her never to let her guard down. When you think you've won, you're at your most vulnerable. So it was that she heard more clicking noises and sped off behind a pile of debris, three bony spikes impaling the ground where she'd just been standing. A half dozen beetles had emerged from somewhere behind her, tail-like appendages wriggling in anticipation.

A form thudded down beside her and she almost ran it through. The boy held up his hands and she stopped herself. His complexion was dark but not black like his hair. He wore a plain shirt beneath a leather jacket whose arms, either by accident or design, had been ripped off. His dark pants looked baggy enough to conceal weapons and had chains connecting a side pocket to one in the rear. He had his weapons in his hands, a pair of curved blades, kukri made long enough to be swords instead of knives.

"Fancy meeting you here," he panted.

They both stood and surveyed the situation. Two more of the beetle creatures had appeared. One of them had a tendril that whipped around uselessly, the upper half completely missing.

"Introductions later," she told him. "Fighting, now."

He nodded and said, "I can get behind that."

Meanwhile, somewhere darker and colder...

"You sure you set this up right?"

"You wanna try?"

"Fuck no! I just don't wanna blow up!"

"Then shut up and let me concentrate."

"I thought you finished already?"

"I did. I just want you to shut up."

"Oh, ha ha. So what now?"

"We get the hell out of here. Charges are on a timer. It's all set."

"You sure it's not gonna...?"

"It's. All. Set. I know what he wants and I know how to deliver. Now let's get out of here before one of these kids hears you yapping."


	3. Pretty And Pink

Summer frowned down at the new arrival, weapons still pointed at them but fingers off the triggers. It was hard to tell at first, given the awkward angle, but it was definitely a girl with, erm, a strong back. She was short, maybe even shorter than Summer, and her brown hair was cut even shorter than her own in a pixie style. Her skin was a smooth cocoa color and she wore a big tan trenchcoat plus some dark pants and tank top. Her right forearm held some kind of spherical device she couldn't identify. She had one hand in her pocket while the other held up a magnifying glass. She held it up to inspect her like she was some kind of interesting insect to be examined.

"Who the hell are you?" demanded Summer.

"Yuka Koi," the girl answered without stopping her creepy inspection. "Investigator and trainee huntress."

Summer frowned, "'Investigator'? What does being a detective have to do with being a huntress? Also, my hoodie is red, not pin..."

Her expression went slack as she realized that she was in fact wearing pink. Just not anywhere anyone should be able to see. She crossed her arms downward as best she could while still holding her scythes and crossed her legs up. She also dismissed the final glyph that held her above Yuka Koi and landed on the floor of the tunnel.

"Did you seriously just look up my skirt?!"

Yuka blinked and quickly put away her magnifying glass.

"Sorry! When I see something that interests me I sort of lose focus of everything else."

"And my panties are that interesting?!"

"Oh, most definitely."

She said it in such a casual manner that Summer didn't know how to respond. Somehow it felt like she was being the weird one. Now that she was standing in front of the other girls she could see Yuka was actually a hair shorter than her. And being able to see her upper body up close confirmed she had great, big...back muscles.

"Would it make you feel better if you saw mine?"

Without waiting for an answer the girl started to unzip her pants.

Blushing like a new bride, Summer shouted, "No! Stop! Just...! Look, let's start over, okay? Hi, I'm Summer, pleased to meet you."

Yuka blinked, giggled, and shook the offered hand.

"Sorry. People tell me I'm no good at socializing."

'There's not good and then there's brain dead!'

Summer sighed, "It's fine. Just, no more looking without permission, okay?"

Summer blushed when she realized what she'd just said. She'd meant to make that sound more general, like don't peep on people without their permission. Instead, she'd made it sound like she'd give that permission at some point.

Yuka simply nodded and said, "Got it. So, do you wanna team up and get out of here? I already have my flag so escape is all that's left."

"Yeah, I got mine too. I guess it's just to mark off the starting point?"

"It threw us off so we wouldn't expect the sudden entrance. Also, I'm sure some students will be so flustered that they forget, proving they don't have the mental fortitude to be huntresses."

Summer was glad for the bad lighting because her face was still lighting up. She'd nearly missed the flag all together and had forgotten about them after the flashing fiasco until Yuka had mentioned it.

"The entrance should be this way."

Yuka started walking down a tunnel. Summer paused before following.

"How do you know this is the way?"

"The tunnel looks flat, but it's actually on a slight slope."

She produced a bullet from her jacket and placed it sideways on the floor. Sure enough, it started to roll down the opposite way.

"Miners mine downward. So..."

"The way up is towards the start of the mine. That's really impressive. I guess being a detective is more handy in the field then I thought."

"It's not as fancy as it seems. My semblance lets me get an exact read on things I see. I know this tunnel is exactly twenty-two feet, 8 inches, and three quarters of an inch tall. I know the air temperature, the light level, everything."

Summer smiled, "My cousin Belle has a semblance like that. She's a researcher, though."

"Is she also pretty and partial to pink?"

Summer's cheeks, having just returned to normal, went bright red again and she looked at the smirking "detective".

"Let's just focus on getting out of here."

After a brief pause, Yuka said, "So. What's it like being Ruby Rose's daughter?"

Summer sighed and sagged. It wasn't hard to figure out, even without her last name. She was the spitting image of her mom when she was younger. Plus, lots of people knew about the Schnee family semblance, the one she'd accidently used to show her unmentionables off to a complete stranger.

"No different than being anyone else's kid, really. Except people acting like they can be super chummy because they've heard of who your parents are."

"Sorry. Didn't mean to pry."

"No, it's fine. You're addressing the Goliath in the room, not begging to get my mom's autograph or anything. It's nice to be treated normally." She frowned, remembering how they'd met. "Mostly normally."

They walked on in silence for a long while, occasionally stopping at the sound of heavy shuffling. The tunnel was a straight shot so all they could do was wait and hope whatever it was moved on. As their time in the near dark rolled on they start to hear the sounds of combat ahead. Metal scraped against rock and beasts grunted in frustration and pain. The tunnel still didn't divert left or right so they rushed on ahead. Summer was already carrying Spring and Fall but all Yuka did was pull out an old revolver from her coat with her left hand. Summer didn't have time to question it so she trusted that a prospective Beacon student would know what they're doing and ran into the chamber where the sound had come from.

It was a massive embankment that cut across them from right to left, the left side going down so far they couldn't see where it ended. In front of them they spotted a few students being backed into a tunnel by a swarm of Grimm. It looked like a pack of Beowolves had taken residence here along with a handful of Boarbatusks. The other students were retreating, one of them held her side like she'd been injured. The tunnel was narrow and would help them from being swarmed but they clearly needed help.

Summer pointed the barrels of her weapons behind her and fired, the force helping her leap forward towards a group of Beowolves. She spun herself and her blades in a spiral and cut into all three of them, killing them all before she landed. Most of the pack turned to face her, no longer concerned with the retreating students. As she lifted her weapons and prepared to fire she was shoved forward from behind. Yuka had shoulder bumped her away and put herself into the path of a spinning, charging Boarbatusk. Before Summer could call out, Yuka extended her arm up in front of her, the sphere attached to her forearm facing forward. A shimmering field of blue-white energy expanded outward from the device like a shield. She met the Grimm's attack head on and knocked it onto its back. With its vulnerable belly exposed she lowered the shield then thrust her arm forward. From one section of the device a long spear of energy came forth, several feet in length, and cut deep into the creature.

Yuka turned to Summer and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. Summer couldn't help but laugh and turned to face the remaining monsters. She gunned down two of them and swung her weapons out to block the clawing strikes of the Grimm. Needing a greater reach, she pressed Spring and Fall together and combined them as she swing them around behind her. The two weapons unfolded hidden mechanisms and rearranged themselves to align their barrels and combine their blades into one enormous edge. The added power and reach allowed her to remove the arms of one of the Beowolves before retreating.

Meanwhile, Yuka was firing her revolver off at the Boarbatusks, scoring glancing hits that knocked them off course as they charged. Whenever one fell onto its back she was ready with her spear of light to deliver a killing blow. But the creatures got smart. Three of them surrounded her and charged in all at once.

"Yuka!"

Summer cried out and summoned a glyph above the other girl's head. Yuka leapt up just before the collision and landed hard against the shimmering symbol, coiled like a spring. The three Grimm were dazed but not injured as the smashed together. Yuka solved that by reversing her momentum and slamming her shield down into the lot of them. They all flew back and upward and she fired a round into each of their bellies before they hit the ground.

The battle was all but won after that. The few Boarbatusks had been dealt with and Yuka turned her attention towards helping Summer deal with the Beowolves. The pair stood triumphant in the tunnel and smiled at one another.

"Not a bad team!" said Yuka.

"Yeah, I guess so. And here I was, all nervous about the exam."

"Ruby Rose's daughter gets nervous? Oh, wait until the blogosphere hears about this!"

"Shut up!"

"And about the pink undies."

"Okay, seriously shut up."

Yuka kept grinning and Summer had to fight not to. Until they heard, and felt, a loud boom thunder through the tunnel. The ground shook beneath their feet and dust fell from the ceiling. Howling seemed to come from every direction as the Grimm became agitated.

"What the hell was that?" Summer demanded.

Yuka looked around, her semblance going into overtime to provide her with data points about vibrations and wavelengths. She turned toward the dark expanse leading downward.

"It came from somewhere deeper inside. What do we do?"

Summer looked up the equally steep ascent. It probably went straight to the surface. There would be more Grimm but she'd probably be the first one out, a great achievement on her first day.

But what sort of huntress would abandon people to whatever had just happened down below?

"I can't make you come," she told Yuka.

Yuka failed to hold in a chuckle and said, "Phrasing."

Summer groaned, "Oh, you are the literal worst!"

They ran headlong into the abyss, towards the danger.


	4. Perfect

'Be cool! You get one shot at a first impression! Remember, don't come off too strong!'

"Why hello there, beautiful."

'Nailed it!'

The girl in Hu's arms stirred, joints groaning in protest as she sat up. She was mostly in Hu's lap but didn't even register it at first. Her hair was a light, golden blond, like sunbeams. Her face was warm and round with huge blue eyes that shined even in the dim light. Her dress, now properly in place, was white and hung by straps over her shoulders. A red and black jacket offset the dress perfectly and was complimented by two bandoliers that crossed at her waist and shoulders, each covered in grenades of various colors. Hu could feel something large and bulky digging into her hip, a weapon of some kind.

"Ow! Sorry. That did not go as planned."

She spoke in a soft, melodic tone with a hint of accent Hu couldn't place. It was lovely.

"No problem. You can drop in on me any time. What's your name, angel?"

"Usha. Usha LeBlonc. And, who are you?"

"That's right."

The girl blinked, "Um, I'm sorry. Who?"

"Yes?"

Usha continued to stare at her and try to decipher whatever code she was using. Finally, after she'd had her fill of fun, Hu grasped Usha's hand and shook it.

"Hu-Huo Xiao Long, at your service."

Usha's face slowly lit up in realization.

"Oh. Oh! I see. Very funny. Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry!"

Usha, having just realized where she'd landed, hopped off of Hu's lap. Hu tried to hide her disappointment.

'Okay, you've got on her good side. Time to...Wait. Remember what Alessandra said. Context. We're in a dark cave, full of monsters, and have to fight to get out. If we do well together, we'll be on the same team! We'll naturally bond, grow closer as we defy death together, share experiences no one else could understand. Perfect!'

"Here," Hu handed her the second flag. "I think this is what we need. We should work together. You know, prove we're good teammates, at being teammates I mean."

Usha took the flag in her dainty fingers and tucked the pole into the top of her dress beside her boob. The flag poked out and fluttered a bit like a conquering army had just claimed one of two mountains.

"That sounds like a good idea. I haven't the slightest clue how to get out of here."

Hu smiled and produce Amore in both her hands.

"Leave it to me! I'll keep you safe."

Usha smiled and reached down to her side where a small brown box hung over her shoulder and hip by a red strap. She handled the box for just a moment and it began to uncoil and shift. Soon a huge weapon with a stock and revolver style chambers was in her hands, the massive grenade launcher looking downright comical in the hands of such a delicate flower.

"As shall I."

Hu's jaw went slack. Her heart stuttered for a moment. Her cheeks went red as her body began to produce so much heat it fed her semblance.

'Best. Day. Ever.'

Hu took off at a run and Usha fought to keep up. Hu wanted to be as impressive as possible, both for the teachers watching on the surface, and for her latest crush. Stealth wasn't her strong suit in any case.

The tunnels proved to be a maze and she took a logical approach to it. She kept a wall to her left and kept turning that way whenever possible. This led the pair of blonds into several different chambers and intersections. It also led then to many groups of Grimm. Eager to impress, Hu met each challenge head on. Mutated Creeps proved to be something of a challenge since normal tactics wouldn't work on them. Normally the strange looking things had only single pair of legs so their headbutts and tailswipes were all you needed to look out for. But these one had maws filled with misshapen teeth and a seemingly random amount of additional limbs. Some had multiple feet-like appendages they used like arms to swipe at their prey. Others had only one or two arm-like additions but with multiple joints and branching configurations that allowed them to attack a wide area. But Amore's weight felt like nothing as Hu-Huo smashed the long club against waves of enemies. Perhaps being near the lovely Usha was heating up her body enough to power her semblance. Whatever the case, the superior reach and surprise flamethrowing capabilities of Amore outpaced the evolution of the Grimm.

Usha was no pushover either. She held back in each engagement and carefully picked her targets and timing. She used the more destructive rounds of her weapon only in larger, more open chambers so as not to risk a collapse or injury to her new partner. For tighter engagements she would select specific grenades from her collection of ammo, creating fields of ice and obfuscating smoke to hold off large groups while Hu smashed through individual Grimm. Her focus was always on Hu, where she was, where her openings were, which Grimm seemed to be giving her the hardest time. Her support made Hu's job all the more easy and they moved through a half dozen battlefields without breaking stride.

They must have slaughtered dozens of the beasts before slowing down. Hu had worked up a good sweat and wanted to pause for a moment to bask in her good work. It was only then that she turned and saw Usha struggling to keep up with her, gasping for breath as she moved.

"Are you okay?"

Usha panted, "Fine. Just need a. Moment to. Catch my. Breath."

Hu replayed the events of her charging through the tunnels in her mind and realized her blunder. She'd stolen glances at Usha, of course, but only focused on how beautiful she was. She didn't think to check if she was physically alright or not.

Hu sat down on the ground and said, "We should take a rest. My arms are starting give out from all the fighting."

Usha smiled gratefully and fell where she stood onto her rear. Hu couldn't help but stare at her rosy cheeks, her heaving chest, her glistening skin. Context be damned! Hu might be a fool for love but she knew when she felt it!

"Usha. I just wanted to say..."

She fought for the right words, words that would convey her feelings without scaring her off.

Then the chamber shook. There was a thunderous clap in the distance and they both shot back to their feet. It was hard to tell where it had come from but the general direction was down routes they hadn't taken yet. Hu looked at Usha again. Even the brief rest had helped her get her color back and her breathing under control. But she was still clearing running on empty.

"We should head back," she declared. "See if we can hook up with another team and report this to the teachers, if they don't already know."

Usha shook her head and said, "That will take too long. Someone could be hurt, or worse."

"Usha, you're in no state to..."

"To what?" she interrupted. "To judge my own stamina? I appreciate your concern but I know precisely where my limits lie, physically and morally. I can keep going but I can't leave without knowing everyone is alright."

Hu felt her own cheeks grow flush. Beautiful. Strong. Compassionate. Kind. Beautiful (worth mentioning twice). Perfect.

Hu nodded and started down a tunnel but felt a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm nearly out of ammo," Usha explained. "I'll be taking the lead."

She placed her hands against either side of her weapon and activated some kind of switch. The two sides separated and began to mold themselves over each of her hands. They looked like massive brass knuckles that trailed up her arm with three barrels from the revolver style mechanism forming knuckles and blades unsheathing atop each of them. The red sash still connected the two halves around her back and with the brown and black coloring it looked as is this demure looking girl had grown massive bear claws.

"Stay behind me. I'll keep you safe."

Trying very hard not to squeal, Hu switched Amore into its cannon format, ready to burn anything that threatened this glorious woman. With only the pilot light of Amore and the old mining lamps to light the way the two of them ran into the abyss, towards the danger.


	5. Thunder

"Down!"

Colton hesitated for a moment but was either fast or lucky enough to duck before the throwing knife reached his forehead. Instead of hitting him, it sunk into one of the strange tentacled beetles that had been jumping for him. It fell back towards its kin before the Dust inside activated. Blue-white fingers of electricity danced across the fiend's body and leapt into four more of them, stunning or killing them all. Alessandra didn't have time to figure out which as she ran down the tunnel.

She and Colton had been given just enough of a breather to exchange names before more of the things had begun to swarm out of a huge pile of debris in the chamber where they'd met. Alessandra took the lead, her faunus eyes helping her map a route through the dimly lit tunnels. She glanced over her shoulder but quickly looked away. The walls, ceiling, and floor were writhing as the beetle Grimm chased after them, dozens around them and perhaps even more further back.

Had she been alone she would have activated her semblance and outrun them. But Colton had no such advantage, only shaking his head when she asked if he had any way of outrunning them. So she had to think of a way to neutralize the threat to him. His weapons were fierce, but not well suited to dealing with so many targets all at once. She had a few potent kunai left but not nearly enough to kill them all or even collapse the tunnel. Besides, with that corrosive saliva and their numbers they could probably eat through a blocked tunnel fast enough to catch them again.

After running through a few options the best thing she could come up with was to thin their numbers while they ran. She slowed down and fell behind Colton, just within reach of a few of the creatures. They hadn't been firing their spikes for some reason but she doubted they could ignore such a target for long. To further encourage them she fell back even further, right to the edge of the swarm, and cut one of them clean in half before escaping with her semblance. The two closest beetles stopped, dug in their spindly legs, produced their tendrils, and fired two spikes each at her. She sped up again to dodge but saw the whole thing. They weren't firing at them because they couldn't. The momentum from throwing them was too much for their bodies to handling while also running so they had to choose one or the other.

"Colton!"

He looked over his shoulder and called out, "Yeah?!"

"They can't shoot at us! Let's pick a few off at a time!'

He shrugged, "Better than running!"

She fell back again and slashed at a few more before rushing forward. Each time she did a few would stop to try shooting at them or would leap at her only to miss and be overcome by the stomping legs of their own kind. Colton placed the hilts of his weapons together and caused them to spin into themselves. The blades shifted as the hilts combined and reformed until he held a huge four pointed throwing star. Still on the run, he hurled it backwards, the spinning blades cutting into multiple beetles before returning to his grasp.

It was methodical work, each run, each mistep leading them closer to drath. But it was working. Slowly but surely the swarm was thinning out. They could do this.

"Uh, do you see that?!"

Allesandra turned to face forward and felt a lead weight drop in her stomach. A hundred feet down the corridor was a mass of teeth and clawing hands. It filled the tunnel and spun as it moved like a huge drill, ripping into the sides of the tunnel and forcebly expanding it as it went. The black skin and white scales were impossible to mistake, as was the fiery red center of its huge, open maw. This thing that spun and clawed it's way down the tunnel with a half dozen hands was a Grimm. Alessandra looked back towards the swarm and saw them pull back. But at the edge of her night vision she saw them, tendrils writhing, lurking, watching, waiting. The drill creature slowly approached. There were only two ways to go. Forward towards death, or backwards towards doom.

"What do we do?!" Colton cried.

Alessandra considered for only a moment. It was risky, and would probably cause problems for her, but there was no other way. True, she could run through the swarm and probably get through with only minor injuries. But she wouldn't allow even one person, even a stranger, to die for her sake.

"Hold on," she said, trying to calm her racing heart. "I'm going to try something."

"Whatever it is, do it fast!"

She closed her eyes, a terrifying act with so much danger to watch out for. She tried to focus on her center, as she'd been taught. The spark was there, inside of her, as always. More quickly than she normally would, time being of the essence, she drew it out, made it bigger and bigger until she felt it passing through and across her skin. She opened her eyes and reached out a hand.

And then a crack of thunder roared. And even to her faunus eyes, everything went dark.


	6. Run

"Come on! Keep up! Or else I'm leaving you behind!"

"Could you please be quieter? There's no need to draw the Grimm to us."

"Let them come! This is a test of our skills so let's test them!"

"It's a test of being a good huntress! So getting out without unnecessary risks will only make us look better!"

Winter's pleas fell on deaf ears. Diana stopped just long enough to check the intersecting tunnels for Grimm before charging down the one on the right, shield and spear at the ready. Winter just sighed and followed.

At first she'd thought she was fortunate to run into someone else. Two separate encounters with Creeps and no signs of anyone had been nerve wracking. She realized quickly that her odds of even finding Summer were slim and she needed to focus on finding the exit. If Summer hadn't made it out by then, she could head back in and search, now knowing where to lead her sister when they found each other.

Diana Fulgora, as she'd briskly introduced herself, was a fine fighter. Her legs were long and powerful, allowing her to thrust her spear into the soft bellies of the creatures that threatened them. Her hair was a soft black tied into a fierce braid that whipped about as she fought. Her attire was very classical, sandals and leather shin guards, a lightly metalled breastplate with more leather reinforcement, and a white skirt with leather padding. She was truly a sight to behold on the battlefield, a whirlwind of activity. But she fought with such ferocity that her cries echoed out across the complex and drew more monsters to them. This seemed to suit Diana just fine as she had eagerly run to meet every new foe as it approached. Winter would just roll her eyes and ready herself for the new fight.

The one saving grace was Diana's sense of direction. She said she knew exactly what direction the cave entrance would be in and that made selecting tunnels much easier. Although, now that she had a feel for it as well, Winter was seriously considering going off on her own. All this unnecessary fighting was getting in the way of the mission.

This became abundantly clear once they finally reached what they assumed was the exit. The shaft was larger than normal and went deep down into the earth at a sharp angle. They must have been high up on the slope, however, as actual daylight was coming in from beyond the turn at the top of the tunnel. There were Grimm of various shapes and sizes milling about, several packs of them. Diana almost burst out onto the scene (again) but Winter physically held her back.

"Just wait for one minute!" she whispered.

"There are only a few of them," Diana insisted. Already moving to pass Winter, she continued, "We can take them easily and..."

Winter shoved her back and followed after her. She put her nose a hair's breadth away from the shocked Diana's and pointed a finger just as close to her eye.

"I am tired of being dragged through these dark tunnels! I have more to worry about than your ego and can't afford to waste anymore time in pointless fights! If you go out there, it will be alone!"

"Fine!" Diana hissed back.

Diana shoulder bumped her and walked back towards the Grimm. She scanned the area, noting their vast numbers, and calculated her odds of winning were she alone. She turned up her nose, turned back around, and sat on the ground with her arms crossed.

Winter sighed, "Thank you."

She stepped closer and observed the behavior of the Grimm. As often happened when they weren't actively pursuing prey, they just sort of slowly wandered the space, staring out at nothing. Winter considered making a run for it, dashing passed them to get to the surface more quickly, when they began to stir. As if they'd caught a scent, their heads all spun at once towards the downward slope and the blackness it reached out into. They became agitated, snarling and clawing at the dirt. Diana almost charged in again but Winter kept holding her back. After a few seconds the Grimm charged down the slope, likely after new prey.

"Let's go!" Winter whispered

Diana followed her up the slope but whined, "We're just going to leave them?"

"Once we confirm this is the exit we can go back in and assist other students. For now, we complete our mission."

Diana moaned her disappointment but kept going. They made the turn and saw that the wide tunnel split into a four way intersection. There was the way they came, two side tunnels that each dove downwards, and the shaft across from them which shone with daylight. Seeing this, Diana shoved Winter aside and sprinted for the light. Winter could hardly believe her behavior and chased after her.

"How?! How could you get here before I did?!"

Winter arrived on the surface, the bright sun stinging her eyes as it began its descent. The professors were all still there, eyes glued to monitors showing students either running through tunnels or battling Grimm. Winter could only see a few passed the crowd and didn't think she saw her sister or cousins on any of them.

Off to the side she found Diana, fuming at another girl who sat on a large rock and still had some kind of pastry, the sort that come in plastic wrapping out of a box, halfway in her mouth. Even sitting it was clear the girl was tall, taller than most of the professors even. Her skin was the dark tan of someone who lived mostly outdoors. Her dark brown hair was something of a mess, cut short in most places but unevenly and with two long, curling, fang-like bangs framing her face. Her attire and weapon were also odd. She wore real hide, a top that kept her arms and flat stomach open to the air and a long loincloth style skirt with matching fur boots that looked like they didn't have soles. Her weapon was a large hammer that appeared to have some kind of propulsion system attached to the back. The long, heavy slab of a weapon rested casually at her feet like a loyal pet.

The girl stared up at the steaming Diana, a confused look on her face as she froze mid-bite. Slowly, she chewed and swallowed the morsel before responding.

"I'm good at finding my way is all."

"You mean you cheated!" Diana shouted. "Or got a lucky landing spot! That must be it!"

The girl stood, towering over Diana.

"Hey, I didn't cheat! I just followed Goodwitch's scent is all."

"What are you, a bloodhound?! You expect me to believe...!"

"Miss Watanabe's semblance led her here."

The girls all jumped as Headmistress Goodwitch suddenly appeared beside them. She had the same stern look on her face as before, a sort of permanent almost frown. But each of them could somehow sense her displeasure without needing to see or hear it.

"Her senses are many times greater than that of a normal person. As for your time, Miss Fulgora, it is a rather impressive accomplishment. Especially when we consider all the pointless battles you dragged Miss Rose through."

Diana looked down in shame then back up at Winter, eyes wide.

"Your name is Rose?"

Winter rubbed her elbow and looked away. This was always so awkward.

"Yes. My parents are Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee."

There was a heavy silence as Diana took this information in. Her face switched from shocked to angry to embarrassed. The silence was broken in two phases. The first was from the Watanabe girl.

Mouth stuffed with the last of her pastry, she asked, "Whose that?"

Diana stared at her in awe, a new silence beginning to form. But it too was stolen away as the earth began to shake. A distant rumbling could just barely be heard from the cave entrance but sounded more like a raging thunder storm through the audio of the screens the teachers were watching. Watanabe stood straight, eyes focused as if on something in the distance.

"It came from deep in the caves," she declared. "Probably passed where the old drilling machine was."

Goodwitch was already at the terminals checking screens. Winter followed and searched desperately for her family. There was Summer with some girl in one of the long sloped shafts, staring down the descending path. And Hu-Huo had also found a partner and seemed to be discussing the sound with her. But she didn't see Allesandra anywhere, nor did she see any obvious sign of what had just happened.

"Miss Watanabe." The girls all stiffened at the headmistress's commanding tone. "I need you to take me to the source of that sound."

"Uh, sure?"

Winter looked back at the monitors and saw Summer heading into the darkness.

"I'm coming with you!" she declared.

"Miss Rose, you do not get to decide..."

"Summer's going! So miss, you can either let me come with you, or I can go by myself."

Goodwitch frowned and sighed, "You and your mothers have always been such trouble."

Then she smiled. Actually smiled. It was small and gentle and warm. She smiled and nodded her head towards the cave entrance. Diana watched the three of them walk by and started walking with them. Goodwitch glanced back at her but said nothing.

Their initial descent back into the tunnels was eerily silent. They followed Watanabe down the large, sloping tunnel, weapons at the ready. Headmistress Goodwitch produced a black riding crop from somewhere and carried it casually as they went. After minutes of walking they still heard and saw nothing, less than usual even as the lights were flickering and dying around them. It made a bleak sort of sense. Whatever that explosion was, it probably caused a lot of panic. The students' panic, fear, and frustration would lead the Grimm to them. Winter kept two of her swords in her hands if only to have something to squeeze. The hair on her arms was standing on end, her emotions begging her to find an outlet, something useful to do. But there was nothing she could do but trust in a stranger and in the skills of her family to survive.

"Wait."

Watanabe held them up suddenly. Her eyes went wide as she stared into a pitch black corridor of stone. She slowly readied her weapon in both hands, twisting them both and causing the exhausts on the back of the head to flare to life with red and yellow flame.

"They're coming."

Each of them took up a defensive stance, Winter summoning her blades into a fan, Goodwitch holding out an empty hand, and Diana turning her body to better hide behind her shield. The rest of them heard their approach before they saw them. The darkness appeared to be moving as they rushed towards the group of fighters. The floor and both walls churned with them. Beowolves used their claws to dig in and run along the walls while Creeps and Boarbatusks stampeded over one another in their mad dash to murder their prey.

Goodwitch started off with an odd series of movements. It was like some kind of flowing martial art practice, her hands waving at air before thrusting forward. An invisible wall of force collided with the stampede, stopping or throwing the entire front half of the pack and disintegrating the first and second rows. But the remainder simply leapt over their comrades and continued their charge. Diana and Watanabe both met the charge, howling as they brought their weapons to bear. Watanabe used her great strength, muscles stretching against her skin as they tightened, and the added power of her flaring weapon, to fully smash the armored head of a Boarbatusk into a small crater in the floor. Diana, meanwhile, compacted her spear into two barrels of a shotgun and fired a barrel each into the eyes of two Beowolves.

Winter took in the situation and moved forward. Two blades still in her grasp, she began hacking and slashing at Creeps who tried to hop off the wall to get around the other two students who continued to hold the pass. With a flick of her wrist and a press of a control on the hilt of her sword, two blades rushed out from above her shoulder and slammed into the side of a Boarbatusk, pinning it to the wall where it writhed in pain. She kept behind the other two girls and swiped at the smaller Grimm that ran passed them while sending her remaining six swords out to assist them and catch stragglers as they approached their line of scrimmage.

But there were simply too many to keep up with. Desperate for a break from the continuous surge, Winter pointed to either side of the corridor, several feet passed where Diana and Watanabe fought. Glyphs formed along the walls and began barraging spears of ice in a crisscrossing pattern. It was impossible for all those Grimm to dodge them all and they didn't try. Some were killed and several were slowed or wounded but they didn't stop coming. Goodwitch used her semblance, her riding crop now outstretched as a focus, to knock back as many as she could while the girls held their line. But there were too many even for her. She began summoning a greater collection of force to grab at them all at once when she noticed something and paused.

One Beowolf shot passed her. Then another. Then two Creeps followed suit. The girls realized what was happening and cautiously ended their assault. The Grimm all shot passed them, bolting for various tunnels as the caverns splintered in various directions. As the last of them fled, the girls stared on in awe.

"What makes Grimm run away?" asked Watanabe.

Goodwitch walked quickly passed her and said, "I intend to find out."


	7. Node

Allesandra groaned and rocked from side to side. She felt several small, hard objects stifling her attempts to turn over onto her back. She pushed herself up with her arms and got up onto shaky legs. As soon as she stood she felt the back of her head try to split open. She grabbed at the spot but didn't feel any blood. She tried to look around only to discover she couldn't. Her eyes were   
open but saw nothing. She blinked and rubbed at her eyes but it didn't help. With a small focus of will she flared her aura to her head wound and slowly the world came into focus.

The tunnel was littered with debris. Colton was on his hands and knees, hands fussing with his ears. Seeing this made Alessandra realize that her ears were starting to ring. She said Colton's name as a test and could barely hear her own voice. The ringing got louder and she was able to hear Colton call out for her as well.

The drill looking Grimm was on its side. Most of its left side and underbelly were simply gone. It made strange gurgling, grinding noises from its huge mouth and clawed vainly at the earth with its few remaining hands. But it was already starting to dissipate from the massive hole in its side, black smoke billowing out like the remnant of a bonfire.

Alessandra turned her gaze to the wall opposite the large Grimm and noted the hole in the wall. It was nearly the size of the drill Grimm and must have been the origin point of the explosion. She'd been just about to release her spell when she'd been thrown down by the blast. There'd been no warning, no signs of anyone else in the tunnel. She suddenly remembered the beetle Grimm and turned back the way they'd come. She could barely make them out in the darkness. They were still there, still waiting. Apparently they didn't understand what had happened either and weren't taking any chances.

She could feel her body coming more under her control as her aura repaired the damage. She reached Colton and helped him to his feet.

"Can you hear me?" she asked him.

It took him a moment to respond. His lips moved but no words came out and he looked like he was trying to remember how to form them.

"Yes..." he said uncertainly.

"Good enough. We don't have long before they figure out it's safe to go on. We have to leave now."

She dragged him to get him started but after a step he moved her hand away and started walking on his own. She'd only partially lied. She had no idea if it was safe down this tunnel or not. There could be another sudden explosion or a collapse. But if they stuck around they'd have to deal with those beetle things. Between the two choices, this was the safer option.

They moved at a regular pace, both to conserve their strength and to not agitate the Grimm. Alessandra didn't notice the glow until they came across the hole in the wall. The debris had blown outward which meant the explosion must have occured on the other side of the wall. The rock was at least a foot thick here and the hole made a connection between the tunnel they were in and some kind of chamber.  
She paused and glanced inside. Colton noticed it too, a pink light on the opposite side of the chamber.

"Think we should head this way?" Colton asked.

Her curiosity was also getting the better of her and she agreed. They had no idea how long they'd been out for but it couldn't have been too long if the drill Grimm, large as it was, hadn't fully dissolved yet. Of course, given its mass and the fact that it was still moving they might have been unconscious for a long while. Either way, they should investigate and report back to the teachers. The chamber was dark even for her eyes and she and Colton both needed to hold onto the wall to guide them into the room. The pink light was faint and distant and did little to help them. As they grew closer she could feel a slight tremor in the air. Her eyes widened at the implication.

"Do you feel that?" she asked.

Colton shook his head, "Feel what?"

She couldn't pull away now. This was a an amazing discovery. To think it was just lying here this whole time! Of course, this did used to be a Dust mine so it made sense. She felt her hand reach out towards it as she slowly stepped forward.

"Anybody hurt?!"

"Hello?!"

The calls broke her out of her stupor. She turned back towards the hole and after a few heartbeats a pair of figures emerged. They both stared into the darkness, unable to see Alessandra and Colton in the black ether. But she could see them. One was an unfamiliar girl wearing a trenchcoat and carrying a pistol. The other was much easier to identify.

"Summer?"

"Al?! Are you okay? What're you doing in there?"

The simple question made her freeze in panic. How could she be so stupid?! The explosion disoriented them, then she sent herself and another into a room where they couldn't see anything and started blindly searching for treasures. She might as well have thrown herself to the beetles. Now more aware of her situation she started backing away towards the hole and searching for any sign of movement.

"Colton, get back. Summer, stay there!"

"What happened here?" asked the girl in the trenchcoat.

"Hold on. I'll get some light going."

"No!"

Summer held out her hand and small white disks began to appear at regular intervals throughout the chamber. They usually had a dull glow to them but this time Summer put in more effort and created lights brighter than the lanterns strung up along the tunnel walls.

The pink light grew brighter and pulsed. Small lines appeared in the air, starting at the light and surging outward like veins connected to a beating heart.

Alessandra had been thrilled at the thought of finding a Node. Naturally occurring concentrations of magic, more commonly referred to as Nodes, were rare but seemed to be growing in numbers recently. They usually appeared in one of two places. First was places untouched by man, deep swamps, mountain peaks, and in the heart of massive forests. No one knew if the Node made those areas flourish or if it appeared because the place was so in tune with nature. The other option was underground where Dust formed. The current working theory was that the Nodes created the Dust in the first place but were either out of phase with this reality until recently or simply couldn't be seen before magic returned more greatly to Remnant. Whatever the case, these natural sources of magical power were rare and extremely useful for research and for powering massive magical endeavors, like providing electricity to large areas or creating barriers against the Grimm.

Of course, they could also be twisted to other purposes. They could be used to create devastating weapons. Or, rarely, they could consumed by a Grimm. The Grimm were created by the god of darkness and had a spark of magic within them. By they were unstable by nature, chaotic, destructive. Accepting magic that was not their own led to gruesome consequences.

The veins of power within the Grimm grew brighter as the Node within its chest beat faster and faster. The hulking creature, now visible in the light of Summer's glyphs, rose from the ground like a snake uncoiling itself. On top it had a torso, head, and arms like a human. Only it was misshapen, muscular in some places and emaciated in others. It had no neck and its head was a malformed blob, longer at the bottom and wider at the top, with no eyes and a mouth so wide that its head opened like a lid when it let out a deep shriek. The torso sat atop the main body, a huge, cancerous blob that dripped liquid darkness onto the cavern floor. Where the liquid fell, tiny beetles began to crawl out of the puddle, taking the liquid with it as it was used to form the body. Each of the beetles had barbed tentacles instead of wings, a trait shared with their progenitor. The tentacles were huge and showed no signs of barbs until they unwrapped themselves from the main body. When the creature cried out the bony appendages unsheathed from within its flesh, each of them connected to one of the pink veins if energy that shone through its skin. It also opened dozens of eyes not on its head but throughout the bulky main body. They shone red in the dark and seemed to focus on the four of them.

The foursome stared unblinking at the thing at first. A few newly formed beetles noticed them and began a tiny charge only to be speared by sharp bones. Alessandra hadn't seen where the shots came from, only writhing tendrils. One of them slowly picked up the bones while the remaining beetles scattered and hid in cracks within the wall. As the tiny beetles turned to black smoke its parent swallowed them whole along with the spikes it had used to kill them.

Alessandra spoke softly and said, "Everyone, we need to..."

Her words were drowned out by the sound of gunfire as Summer unloaded her weapons into it. Combinations of burst and freeze rounds impacted all across the creature's body with no obvious effect. The beast howled again and all bets were off.

Knowing how best to fight together, Summer grew the glyphs she'd created around the room for her cousin's benefit, angling them in various directions. With a nod of thanks Alessandra used her semblance to dash to one such platform and then another as she dodged a swiping tentacle. Once she saw an opening she launched herself at an angle towards the smaller body of the creature. That was the weaker part and also where the Node continued to pulse. If she could remove it, the creature would most likely fall apart. But the arms of the main body were lightning fast and she was swatted back to the ground in a flash. Colton was over her prone form just as quickly, kukri blades working in tandem to deflect bone spikes as they approached.

Yuki fired uselessly at the thing until her pistol ran dry. Knowing it wasn't going to help here she put it away and brought up her light shield. She batted away spikes and slowly moved closer to the creature, jumping and rolling as the tentacles started to swipe at her. When she close enough to strike, however, it barraged her with such force that she could only brace herself against the hail of impacts against her shield.

Summer stayed back and went with a different tactic than usual. She put her weapons away and held her arms out above her. She summoned a massive glyph above the creature and put every ounce of burst Dust she had on her into it. The glyph glowed an angry red before exploding into a pillar of fire. That got its attention. It squirmed and screamed and flailed its arms, ending the attack on Yuki.

"Boost!" Alessandra called out.

Yuki saw her running towards her and got the hint. Alessandra leapt onto the shield then leapt off as Yuki thrust it forward and up, throwing her high above the creature. She spun as she descended, giving herself more momentum to hopefully slice the thing fully in half. She felt the smaller body give way beneath her blades as they charged straight towards the Node.

Only it wasn't there anymore. Alessandra watched in horror as the pulsating pink sphere sank deeper into the main body of the beast. Too late she saw a tentacle swiping at her. If not for Colton's timely throw, his large shuriken cutting the arm in half, she would have been swatted against the wall like an insect.

The foursome regrouped and watched as the thing undulated and reshaped itself, tentacles forming, disappearing, and reforming all around its surface. The constant shifting and waving of its arms was putting out the flames that Summer had conjured.

"We need to disconnect it from the Node," explained Alessandra.

"And how do we do that?" asked Yuki.

"We hit it with something. Carve or shoot it out."

"It'll just move it again," said Colton.

"So we give it nowhere to move it to," said Summer. "We need to hit it on all sides, force the Node to retreat into the center, and hit it there."

"We don't have that kind of firepower!"

"Somebody say firepower?"

They all turned and saw Hu-Huo and Usha at the entrance to the chamber, Amore's pilot light burning and ready for action. Usha held up her massively armed fists and nodded. The creature ended it's recovery, its myriad eyes focusing on the new arrivals and emanating a silent malice.

The now bolstered group of warriors charged the beast with renewed vigor. The original foursome moved in to attack it on a singular front. Summer combined her weapons into one vicious scythe and Yuki lessened the coverage of her shield in order to focus more of the weapon's energy outward, making a short blade that extended passed her fingers. The Grimm kept its tentacles close, acting as a barrier against the occasional bullet or thrown projectile sent its way. It also returned the favor by sending out waves of spikes, now glimmering with the pink energy that surged ever brighter within its frame. The shots mostly missed and the foursome kept moving forward, hacking at the tentacles that reached out to slow their advance. Too late they realized that the charged energy within them wasn't just for show as they each exploded and released shockwaves that sent them all to the ground.

Meanwhile, Hu and Usha began circling their target, trying to force the Node into the center of the mass. Amore spat flames that fully coated its body while Hu jumped and rolled above and beneath swiping appendages that sought to end the pain, red eyes bulging and seething with rage. Any that Hu couldn't manage to dodge were dealt with by the furious strikes of Usha's gauntlets. The claws allowed her to cut through the thinner sections but even the meatier tentacles were little issue for her. She would strike directly, claws penetrating for a secure hold, then release a burst of force usually reserved for firing large explosive rounds at high speed just as her punch landed. The swiping arms were swatted aside and Hu-Huo was able to continue her work in a full circuit, the pair regrouping with the others as they fell from the explosions.

And while they did, the creature continued to pat and swing at the flames that threatened to consume it. The fire was slowly winning but at no point was the creature fully engulfed. Alessandra noticed the Node shifting from one area to the next along the outside of its body as it fought back the flames and scowled in frustration. Was this thing simply too resilient for them to handle?

The beast seemed to answer her as the tentacles all gathered around it, rose up high and then slapped downward, forcing them all to leap back. At the perimeter of the creature a barrier of crackling pink energy had formed. Most of the tentacles remained on the floor, energy surging from them and into the bubble of protective energy. But a few continued the fight against the flames, slowly saving the Grimm from its suffering.

The humans and faunus gathered once more, breathing heavily after so much fighting, even before reaching this monstrosity.

"It keeps putting itself out," Colton gasped. "We need more!"

Summer turned to Hu and asked, "Think you can do it?"

Hu shrugged, "Maybe. I could hit it all at once but then I'd be spent. If it puts out even one spot it'll be impossible to hit the Node."

"Your strategy is good but could use some work."

They all turned at the new voice. Headmistress Goodwitch had appeared with three more students, including a beaming Winter who was happy to see her family were alive and well.

Goodwitch continued, "The appendages need to be dealt with first. It's a regenerative type so the final blow will have to follow quickly."

The three girls moved into the chamber but Goodwitch remained at the entrance.

"You aren't gonna help?" Hu demanded.

Goodwitch remained unfazed, "This is a test, after all."

The gathering of would be warriors all looked at one another and at the shimmering energy field that protected their prey. Within the dome the mass grew and pulsed like a pustule, new arms forming as the main body grew new bone spikes that crackled with the magic of the Node. Everyone wanted an answer, wanted someone to tell them how to beat this thing, how to win. Summer had an idea but it seemed so stupidly simple that she kept quiet. Except no one else was speaking either. Did they all feel the same way? Uncertain, afraid? Even Al, ever confident in her role as heroine, looked to the others. She looked tired, battered, uneasy. Well, if no one else had any ideas, then her basic plan would have to do.

She took a deep breath and spoke with as much conviction as she could muster, "Everyone with a shield or blunt weapon, you're on guard duty. Everyone with an edged weapon, start cutting the arms down to size until their nubs."

Everyone nodded and turned to face the beast. Summer held back Hu and Al.

"Can you two finish it off?"

The sisters looked to one another. Alessandra wavered until she saw the big, stupid grin of her sister, her ears twitching excitedly atop her head. In Hu's mind there was no question. The four of them together would always win. Alessandra felt her uncertainty wash away and she nodded to Summer. The two faunus stepped aside to prepare, Amore elongating into its kanabo form, while the others charged in once more.

The barrier fell and all hell broke loose. The bone spikes elongated into serrated blades that gave the flexible tendrils much greater reach and power. Watanabe, Yuki, Usha, and Diana focused on smashing and slicing through those makeshift swords to allow the others better access. Winter, being late to the party, doubled her effort. Her eight blades moved as one in wide swipes, each one taking out a little more dark flesh before the next one came to further the task. Between attacks she summoned glyphs opposite her comrade's attempts at cutting through a section of arm, summoning shards of ice so they might cut at it from both sides.

Summer used the now greater reach of her weapon to bypass the new bone spikes, weapon firing to provide enough added power to the strikes to slice cleanly through even the most reinforced sections. She surrounded her target in glyphs and leapt from one to the next in a corkscrew, leaving that arm in a dozen separate pieces.

Colton, not wanting to be fall behind the others, worked his blades in a dizzying dance that slapped aside striking bone blades and chopped through the flesh of the beast. The thick, curved blades of his kukri were designed specifically for the task of slicing off limbs and he worked his way down one of them proving their effectiveness. Once at the base of the creature, he reformed the massive shuriken and gripped it tightly in both hands. He spun around twice, building up moment before tossing the spinning weapon into and through two more limbs, felling them both like trees.

As the creature tried desperately to regrow its limbs at a rate faster than they were being removed, the faunus sisters watched and waited. They knew they'd only have one shot at this.

Hu placed a hand on her sister's shoulder and asked, "You sure you're up for this?"

Alessandra was exhausted. The running, the fighting, the repeated use of her semblance, and surviving the explosion had all taken a toll on her. But she did her best to imitate her little sister's dopy grin.

"I'll have to be."

Hu rolled her eyes and smiled, "Still trying to be cool, huh?"

"I don't need to try."

They looked back at their target, smiles replaced with determined, focused expressions. The Grimm had lost most of its limbs and was starting to regrow more of them across the entire surface. Hu planted her feet more firmly and reached deep within herself. She quickly found the fire that always burned within her, the source of her greatest strength. As she pulled more and more power out of it a small red orb of light appeared and began circling her. The air around her distorted from heat build up and her hair changed fully into a crackling fire. She gripped Amore so tightly her knuckles turned bone white. When she charged she left imprints on the stone floor where he heels had dug in.

With a mighty roar she smashed her weapon down a few feet away from her target and released a plume of fire from the tip. The flames were white hot and did not move as flames should. Instead of streaming forward and into the side of the Grimm the fire flowed around it, encircling it. Closer observation proved that within the flames, figures were moving about. Great white tigers ran in a stampede of flames, clawing at the beast and leaving trails of yet more fire where they struck. The red eyes of the beast could barely be seen through the bright fires but they were wide and panicked. A pink light shined against the ceiling of the cavern, proving that the Node was in position.

Alessandra didn't hesitate. She'd already drawn Retribution, the shorter and more easily maneuverable of her swords. She too had gained an orbiting globe but this one had a dull purple glow. She moved at top speed, knowing she couldn't let the creature move the Node away from her strike again. She also knew she didn't have the strength to hold the spell for long. She kept it held in place until she felt the blazing heat of Hu's fire on her face, her aura failing under the strain.

She collided with the mass of darkness that was the creature's body. Or at least, she should have. At the final moment she shifted her body, clothes, and weapons into an altered state. Her form was one of complete darkness, a smoky body in the shape of a girl. This spell allowed her to ignor all physical matter. But the Node wasn't just physical matter. The magic of her spell collided with the power of the Node and sent a sort of shockwave down her arm. Her entire body felt tingly and numb but she followed through with the strike. She shot out the other side just as the spell faded, collapsing and rolling against the floor as she went.

And the Node came along with her, clinking against the stone and rolling beside her.

Somehow the creature howled without a mouth. The Grimm, whose horrid shape could only be maintained by the power of the Node, shook and melted into a wretched pudding of black ooze that smoked and sizzled into nothingness.

Many of the students cheered at their triumph. Hu, Winter, and Summer rushed to Alessandra's side. She was conscious but needed help standing. Her head injury, no longer held at bay by her aura, was making her dizzy. Her sister gladly held her up in an embrace, happy beyond words that she was alright.

It was enough to warm Glynda's heart and illicit another smile from her lips. Then she heard the skittering, turned, and gasped at what she saw.

"Stay behind me, children!"

A flood of beetles poured out of the opening and into the chamber. Glynda put all her remaining power into keeping them at bay. The flood was held back by an invisible wall of force but they just kept coming, filling all the available space. Already there were at least a hundred of them, all fighting to claw their way onto the floor, ceiling, and walls.

"Find another exit!" she shouted.

The children found many exits but they all would require them to crawl on their bellies. They had no clue where they would lead and if they encountered more beetles along the way they wouldn't be able to defend themselves.

Winter stood in stunned silence, staring at the sea of white and black and glowing red eyes. She'd never seen so many Grimm all at once, not even in the swarm that ran passed them, not even when combined with the packs they'd had to fight to reach this chamber. She felt something warm in her hand and turned to see Summer holding it in her own and giving her a smile, brows furrowed.

"We've got this."

It was a simple sentiment but it filled Winter with confidence. If Summer was here, she could do this.

"Your powers aren't a sword to destroy your enemies with. It's a shield of last resort. When all hope is gone, you can bring out the light that shines on your last thread of hope. Turn it into a star within you and let it shine and burn away all doubts and misery."

They both thought of everything they stood to lose. Their futures at Beacon. Each other. The chance to ever see the rest of their family again. New friends.

And they silently gave the same command. No.

The others looked on in stunned silence as a blinding light filled the chamber, forcing them to shield their eyes. They felt the warmth of the sun on their skin, hot but not burning and filled with rejuvenating energy. When they dared to look again their jaws fell at what they found. Headmistress Goodwitch grabbed at her knees and huffed in exhaustion. But the beetles were still frozen in place, now not moving at all where before they were clawing to get in. Then they began to fall and shatter upon the ground. The fragments and dissolving darkness threatened to fill the chamber and some of them had to step back.

Glynda Goodwitch pulled the two exhausted girls back from the portal. They'd both fell to the ground, breathing slowly and barely able to keep their eyes open. But their hands were still clenched tightly together. She straightened her clothes and put on her professor expression once again. She casually strolled over to the glowing pink sphere and slowly reached for it. It sparked and she recoiled from the sting, electing to lift it with her telekinesis instead.

"This encounter will be considered in your evaluations. Now, I believe it is time we leave this place."

She didn't wait for them or turn to see if they could follow her. She didn't have to. Those that could stand on their own gathered themselves up and assisted those who could not. And they left the darkness together.


	8. Teams

The ceremony hall was more crowded than usual. Beacon was very selective in who was invited to such events so it was never meant to hold a great number of people. Still, even being as discerning as ever, today was especially packed. Family of new students were only allowed a limited number of seats so as to not overwhelm the building's capacity or the school's security. A few students would sometimes attend, normally older siblings. But today had so many curious onlookers that the Headmistress had to close the ceremony to any further students once they started forming a line out the door. There were also a few special guests who required their own additional considerations. All in all, it was a crowded experience and Glynda was glad she was standing on stage with the rest of the faculty and not sitting or standing with the crowd.

Among the faculty was an outsider, someone who did not work at Beacon at all. But she'd insisted she needed to be there to maintain order and decency. As Glynda looked over at her former students she felt justified in her decision.

Weiss Schnee had returned to Beacon only on rare occasions these past few years. She'd been busy with her own work and usually saw Ruby outside the school's walls. She felt a special kind of blessed to be allowed back into this hall, to stand on this stage once again.

Beside her, Ruby stood in a resplendent manner, a soldier, hero, and teacher. And yet her eyes were as big as dinner plates and so watery that they looked like they would pop like water balloons at any moment. Weiss smiled, sighed, and pulled out yet another tissue and offered it to her wife.

"Thanks..." Ruby croaked before soaking the tissue.

"I understand it's an emotional day..."

"I'm just so proud!"

"Me too, dear. But, we don't want to cause a scene right at the start of the semester. You remember wanting to keep a low profile at first."

Ruby sniffled and laughed, "Yeah. I remember someone else trying to build up the most popular team in school. By any means necessary."

"I remember you blowing up..."

"I remember it being your fault."

Weiss scowled. Ruby stuck out her tongue. Weiss cracked first and playfully shoved her. The crisis had been averted and the student's high opinion of their most famous teacher would be upheld. In truth, though, Weiss could feel her eyes swelling as well. Ever since she'd gotten the optic implants to replace the eyes she lost to Salem, tears were hard to come by. She was silently thankful to the gunmetal spheres with their dimly glowing blue centers that acted as her new eyes for taking so much of her tears as lubrication.

Out in the crowd, two more special guests required their own security details on top of what Beacon already offered. Blake, Yang, and their eldest daughter, Belle, had moved mountains to be there. Blake's work as chief of Menagerie was taxing, even with the council taking so much power and responsibilities for themselves. But she'd made it clear to them all, she'd be going to her daughters' entrance ceremony, whatever that meant. And they'd just have to deal with the consequences. She had enough good will (and fear) among the councilors that none of them had pressed the issue.

Yang, as usual, had a dozen different problems hanging over her head. But Blake had always been amazed at how well she'd always balanced her family life with the responsibilities the aftermath of the war left her with. No doubt Goodwitch had a million things she wanted to discuss with her. But the world could wait until tomorrow. Today was just for them. They'd tried to keep the security detail small but even just a few guards from Menagerie were hard to pack into the already crowded space.

Belle Xiao Long had to fight to keep her eyes open. She was always low on energy from her constant late nights working along side her aunt Weiss. At her mothers' insistance she wore a more formal kimono of spring colors and flower designs than her usual plain one. She also forwent her lab coat, even though she never really felt like herself without it. Her mom, Yang, took a piece of her long, curly black hair and tickled her nose with her. Her eyes shot open as she sneezed into the back of one of her parents' guards. She silently apologized to the man and frowned at her mom who just smiled and rubbed her cat ears like she was still a child.

Behind the threesome sat the other security concern. Being less willing to tell people off, her security detail was vast. Atlesian soldiers were posted both within the hall and outside the building. She also had two ace operatives on either side of her, scanning the vast crowd for threats. Penny Polendina didn't mind. She knew that they all cared for her very much, beyond their duty to protect the winter maiden. Besides, the inconveniences could be forgotten so long as she got to be here for her number one (and only) student's special day. She'd never had a normal school life or joined a regular team until much later in her life and was thrilled that Winter and the other girls would get to experience what she could not. As the proceedings moved forward she readied the heavy camera slung around her neck. Today was also a mission day! Her friends had asked her to take as many pictures as possible of the day's events since they'd both be on stage. As always, she would do her best!

The Headmistress of Beacon Academy stepped forward to the microphone that had been prepared for her. She didn't call out for the crowd to end their din of conversations. She didn't have to. She just stood there and frowned at them. A few seconds later, all was silent.

"How does she do that?" Ruby whispered to Weiss.

Weiss pressed a finger to her lips.

"Thank you for coming on this auspicious day. Over the years, I have attended many such ceremonies. Each is special to every student, ever parent, every friend. It is the beginning of a grand adventure. But not to me. To me, they are all the same. Every student is a continuation of a grand tradition. Every ceremony is like a great intake of breath from this academy as new life fills its lungs. This ceremony is like all the rest. And by that, I mean that it is a necessary and wonderful event, dating back to the creation of the huntsmen academies."

The audience applauded but Glynda had no time for them. There were other matters to attend to beyond silly pomp and circumstance.

Even as the clapping continued she called out, "Allesandra Belladonna, Robert Geist, Colton Luna, and Hu-Huo Xiao Long."

In the wing of the stage the students waited to be called. As the foursome was summoned they stepped out into the light of the hall. The audience renewed their cheers as the four stood on the stage, their images and personal emblems appearing on a screen above them that spelled out their new team name. Colton and Hu stood next to each other while Allesandra stood next to a pale looking boy with terrible posture. His already gaunt face looked even more sunken due to his hunched shoulders, sunken eyes, and long, spiky black hair that hung down around his face. His clothing was equally dark, a plain black T-shirt with a large image of a laughing skull on the front and a tight fitting pair of black jeans with black combat boots. He did have at least a little protection for himself in the form of two small, metal pauldrons on his shoulders.

"You will be known as team arch," said Goodwitch as the letters ARCH formed over their portraits. "Led by Allesandra Belladonna."

The clapping resumed and Yang stood and whistled. Blake tried half-heartedly to get her back into her seat but she was close to shouting out how proud she was of Al and how glad she was that her girls were on a team together. Hu blinked and looked around, her mouth slowly opening as she realized what this meant. Her team consisted of herself, her sister, and two boys. This couldn't be happening!

"WHAT?!" she screamed at no one in particular. Everyone froze at her outburst. "What about my dream?! My perfect romance?! What about Usha?! USHA!!!"

The two boys stared at her as if they'd just been assigned to babysit a Wyvern. Allesandra ground her teeth and grabbed her sister by the scruff of the neck.

"Sorry everyone..." she muttered as she waved and dragged her crying sister back stage.

"USHA!!?"

"Who do you think this one is?" Belle asked her parents with a bored expression.

"She's 'the one'," Yang sighed. "Again."

Blake point a stern finger at them both and barked, "Do not insult young love!"

Yang and Belle stared at Blake until she broke down into laughter, the other two following suit. Blake may have had a tiny hand in Hu's romance obsession but even she could recognize when her daughter took things too far.

Goodwitch cleared her throat into the mic and the speculative murmuring of the crowd died immediately.

"Winter Rose, Yuka Koi, Luna Spira, and Diana Fulgora. You will be known as team wild, led by Winter Rose."

The students gathered onto the stage in a procession, the letters WYLD forming along with their portraits. Winter glanced at her new teammates as they walked along the stage together. Diana was tiresome but undeniably skilled. Perhaps they'd become friends and she'd learn to tone it down a bit? Then there was a girl she didn't recognize at all, Luna Spira. Her hair was monochrome, dark black on one side and white as Winter's on the other. It was also just as long as hers, though woven with beautiful braids and an interwoven ornament that looked like horns or antlers curling around her scalp. Her clothing was similar to what Alessandra usually wore as a top but it covered more of her body and was paired with pants that were baggy. She looked like some kind of shrine priestess and her serene face matched that assumption.

Then there was Yuka Koi. Summer had mentioned her oddities and it made Winter wince. She'd never been very good with that sort of thing and wondered what she would have done had she been in her sister's shoes. Probably scream and run away. She'd have to keep an eye on that one.

As the audience applauded she watched her parents on the other side of the stage. Her mom, Ruby Rose, was visibly bouncing with barely contained excitement. Her mother, on the other hand, was squeezing her mom's hand tightly and just gave a soft smile and a little wave. Winter found herself smiling and waving back without thinking. Oh well. They already knew her last name so it's not like it was a secret.

The newly created team WYLD left the stage and two more teams were called and applauded. Summer waited with the other as of yet uncalled students and felt herself starting to get nervous. Her family had all gone to different teams. Even Yuka, the only other person she really knew around here, was on Winter's team. But, this was good, in a way. She'd still spend time with them, after all. This was just a chance to meet new people, yeah? Hopefully they didn't suck. Hopefully the team leader wasn't a complete...

"Summer Schnee, Usha LeBlonc, Martin Fletcher, and Naomi Watanabe."

Summer was forced out of her contemplation and walked onto the stage alongside strangers. Two of them she'd at least seen in the fight with the charged up Grimm. Wait, she was called first. Didn't that mean...?

"You will known as team summon, led by Summer Schnee."

Summer looked straight up at the display for team SUMN. Sure enough, her portrait had "team leader" beneath it. How did that happen? She looked across the stage and...Uh oh. Mom looked ready to burst. Mother was whispering frantically but it didn't seem to be working. Summer subconsciously pulled her hood up and slouched her shoulders.

"WAY TO GO SUMMER!"

The Headmistress turned and whipped her own shin with her crop. Ruby calmed herself and held up her hands in an apologetic gesture. Weiss buried her hands in her face. Blake shook her head. Yang and Belle laughed above the confused sounds of the crowd. And Summer rushed off stage before things could get any worse.

...

"Ma'am, are you certain this is a good idea? They're just children. They shouldn't be trusted with this."

Penny smiled at the operative and nodded, "They are all good girls and strong women. I am certain they are capable of handling the situation."

Ruby placed a hand on her friend's shoulder and added, "We all grew up surrounded by so many secrets. All of them were meant to keep us safe. But ignorance only delays fear and makes us less prepared."

"I tend to agree with Mrs. Rose," said the Headmistress. "Working from the shadows has its benefits, and I'm not about to go playing with my hand revealed, but keeping them in the dark will only endanger them. It may feel wrong to place such a burden of knowledge on such young minds but..."

The door to the office opened and four girls stepped inside. It had only been a few hours after the ceremony. They'd left the small celebration their parents had put together with friends and family and gotten halfway to their dorms when their scrolls went off. They'd all been called to the Headmistress's office without explanation. They discussed their theories on the way up but came up empty.

Summer, Winter, Alessandra, and Hu-Huo looked around the office, trying to guess at their purpose for being there. Headmistress Goodwitch sat behind her desk, the strange piece of furniture containing several spinning gears working at some unknown purpose. In fact, the entire room contained glass with swirling gears, some of them massive, working soundlessly at their task. All their parents were present and standing about casually, as if they did this all the time. There were also two people in the unmistakable uniform of the Atlesian military. Then there was the final figure...

"Winter!"

A green streak flashed and slammed into the petite young woman at speeds that would overturn trucks. Winter, who was used to this sort of greeting, braced herself with several glyphs, half of which had shattered under the strain.

"Good evening, Master," she croaked while being crushed by the pressure of Penny's hug.

Penny had been strangely absent from the party. When asked, some of the other adults had simply said they'd see her later in the night. Perhaps this had something to do with the mantle of the winter maiden? By why call them?

"Thank you for coming," said Headmistress Goodwitch. "I'm sure you're all anxious about why you're here so I'll get right to it. We have reason to believe that the explosion in the cavern during your test might have had something to do with Rebirth. And it is possible that their targets were any one or more of the four of you."

The girls all tensed and looked to their parents. They didn't look concerned but their expressions weren't hopeful or disarming either.

"What makes you think that?" asked Alessandra.

"It was already suspicious," said Blake. "The explosion was clearly artificial, clearly meant to give that Grimm access to the rest of the tunnels. It could have been a coincidence that you four were in the group that fought the enhanced Grimm but I don't want to take any chances."

"You all know that Rebirth has taken an interest in you all in the past. While that never bore fruit, it is still worth remembering."

And they did. The Rebirth movement claimed to want to spread the power of magic to all of Remnant, to begin a new golden age of magic. But they were secretive and sometimes violent. They'd stolen research from magic research facilities across Remnant, taken artifacts believed to be magical in nature from ancient ruins, and even kidnapped people with natural talents for magic.

Years ago, when the Rebirth movement was just starting to get its negative reputation, all four of them had been sit down and warned by their mothers. Winter and Summer had inherited the now once again legendary silver eyes as well as a semblance known to mesh well with spellwork. It was feared that Alessandra and Hu-Huo were in even greater danger of being targeted because of their connection to Yang. No one knew for certain if their natural affinities for magic were due to having her as a parent but it was a conclusion that Rebirth might well have made. They'd been cautious and it had seemed to work. None of them ever had an encounter with the paramilitary group. But the risk had always been there.

"Has there been any announcements?" Winter asked.

Goodwitch shook her head, "None so far. But we'll keep you abreast of the situation. Your mothers simply thought you should be made aware that we are investigating it further."

"Does this mean we're not gonna be allowed to study here?" asked Summer.

"Of course you can stay!" Ruby insisted. "We don't want to hide you away in a hole somewhere or pretend this will all just blow over soon. We want you to be prepared. We just also want you all to be careful."

The large group started to filter out of the office as one until the Headmistress spoke out.

"Penny? Yang? May I have a word with you both in private?"

Penny froze, caught between her desire to spend time with her friends, her family, and her training to obey authority figures. Yang had no such hesitation. She looked over her shoulder, arm still holding onto Blake by the hip.

"Not tonight, Glynda. Whatever it is can wait until morning."

"It is quite urgent."

"It always is. Look, if it isn't important enough for you to come find me tonight, work around my schedule for once, then it can't be too much to ask for one full night of family time."

Goodwitch scowled but said nothing. Penny gave an awkward shrug and rushed out of the room before she could be scolded into staying. Glynda sighed and took a sip of coffee. On impulse, she tapped on her keyboard then leaned back in her chair. As she did, images from her desktop came up, the terminal fully awakened by her touch. The images were dark but clearly showed large, shadowy forms moving in the background, their figures outlined by dimly glowing lights of various colors that seemed to eminate from within them. Her eyes slowly closed as a soothing, classical melody began to echo around the room. Perhaps the world could wait just one more night. Or at least until the end of this song.

...

"Is everything ready?"

"Yes, sir. Here's your speech, including the edits you requested."

"Excellent. Any news about the incident in the mines?"

"The larger networks are calling it an accident and focusing on the famous girls, calling them future heroes and placing them on pedestals. A few smaller networks are working the angle on the real story, the detonation, but don't seem to have all the evidence needed to draw a definitive conclusion."

"Concise as always, Ms. Gray."

"I only wish for you to have the full picture, sir."

"I understand. Wish me luck."

"Luck has nothing to do with it, sir. But as you wish. Good luck."

The older gentleman chuckled and shook his head. As necessary as Ash Gray was to his needs he'd never understand the young woman. Perhaps he wasn't meant to. His PR people had selected his outfit, a gray suit and red tie that hinted at, but did not copy, the stoic might of an Atlesian military officer while still presenting the style of a sophisticated gentleman. His hair, once a fiery red, had since faded to a more orange hue. He kept a streak of gray to make himself look more dignified but kept his face cleanly shaven to look more youthful, more vigorous, than he truly was.

Victor Viceroy walked down expensive, blood red carpets on his way to the broadcast room, imported leather shoes clicking against the hardwood beneath. The room was a small one, two dozen chairs and a podium on a small, raised platform. Two small camera crews stood in the back while a dozen reporters and photographers sat in the chairs, impatiently waiting for him. He took his place behind the podium and heard a soft click as an image was projected behind him. Across a field of blue were two crossed arms, one holding a hammer, the other a book, within a large spinning gear.

"I want to start by thanking you all for coming on such short notice. No doubt you were brought here by the promise of answers as to what really happened in the abandoned Falco Dust Company mines. I shan't bore you with platitudes. For we have in our possession evidence that the so-called Rebirth movement was directly responsible not only for the explosion that endangered a group of young huntsmen and huntresses in training, but also the creation of the abomination that assaulted those same students."

Cameras flashed and reporters stood and started talking over one another in a cacophony. Victor almost smiled. You could always predict the press. He pointed to one at random.

"Mr. Viceroy, what evidence do you have, exactly?"

"My party has acquired eye witness testimony from the students which proves it was not an accident. We have also obtained shipping records which prove beyond a reasonable doubt that so called 'Reborn' were, at one time, planning to ship magically enhanced Grimm into Vale. It seems plain that these two facts are linked."

He called upon another reporter who asked, "Have you provided this evidence to the proper authorities?"

"But of course! The Naturalist Party believes in society and wishes only to improve this great kingdom. We also believe that attacks such as this become inevitable when 'magic' is allowed to run lose upon the world."

"Are you suggesting that current restrictions are insufficient to...?"

Seeing an opening, Victor held up a hand to stop the man and went right into his prepared remarks.

"All I know is this. The current system has failed us. In my youth, we didn't need mystical forces to power our cities and homes. Even our reliance on Dust wasn't nearly so great as it is now. The world was destroyed once by beings of great magical power and nearly destroyed again only twenty years ago by the remnants of that age. And yet so many of us cling to these forces which we cannot hope to control as if they will solve all of our problems. But magic did not create our cities and societies. Magic didn't cute diseases and clothe the poor. We did. Humans and faunus built their own futures through science and understanding. And now, as magic grows ever more dangerous, the most dangerous among us will find newer and deadlier ways to turn this chaotic force against us. Today, we learned what a single, well placed Grimm, hopped up on magic, could do. Imagine what will happen when this power is placed within a human container. How can we allow any one person to hold so much power? What kind of future are we creating for our children when power can be so consolidated into a single individual? What happens when a maiden dies and her powers fall into the wrong hands? Or when someone recreates that power for their own purposes? We only know the identity of a single maiden, what of the other three? Perhaps one, or all of them, are gathering their power to strike us all down with powers beyond what any army could muster! This madness must end somewhere. I say here! I say now!"

The cameras flashed. Questions were shouted. Victor did smile this time as his message was sent out across the globe. Today, it began. Here and now.


	9. Day One

Winter wasn't sure how to begin. She'd taken her things to her new dorm room and met her new teammates along the way. She tried to be sociable and polite, smiling and greeting each of them. The reactions had been...not great. Luna, serene as when they'd first met up on stage, only gave a little nod in return. Diana hadn't even given that much. She seemed angry about something and deaf to the world beyond her own thoughts. But the worst response had definitely come from Yuka.

She'd smiled, waved, and said, "Morning, Chief. Wow. Those pants really hug your curves."

Winter had blushed and stopped to inspect herself. Had she ordered too small a size? She must have looked like a fool trying to stare at her own butt to see what Yuka had been talking about.

Her teammates had all elected to go with the regular girl's uniform, including the skirt. But Beacon didn't have a dress code beyond wearing a school uniform and it wasn't unusual for girls to wear pants instead. She'd thought that wearing more gender neutral clothing would help her avoid situations like this. But now that she looked herself over she realized that Yuka was right. The pants fit like a glove and so she hadn't thought of it any further than that. But her butt noticeably stuck out in the back. It wasn't overly large or anything just...noticeable. Winter had to fight the urge to cover her backside the whole rest of the way.

The team arrived at their room without another word. That is, until they entered and Yuka felt the urge to shout, "Yeah, team WYLD!" No one answered her call and she awkwardly kept her fists in the air for a full minute before quietly going to unpack.

The silence that followed hadn't been much better. Winter was never very good at social interactions. But she was a team leader now. Wasn't it her responsibility to bring everyone together? She pondered her options while putting away her things and keeping a close eye on Yuka. She caught her staring a few times, and not only at her. Apparently she was fascinated whenever one of the other girls was putting her clothes away. No doubt the little deviant was trying to spy upon their delicates. In order to avoid this she cleared her throat and got everyone's attention while they continued unpacking. This succeeded in stopping Yuka's snooping but now she needed something to say...

"So... We are all strangers. At the moment. However, we are all teammates...So...We should know about each other! How about we take turns asking questions of one another?"

The girls looked at one another. Yuka and Diana shrugged while Luna smiled and said, "A wonderful idea!"

Feeling a surge of confidence, Winter turned to Luna, the most enthusiastic of the bunch, and started with her.

"Luna. Where are you from?"

A basic question but a solid foundation. This was easy!

"Oh, I grew up in a monastery in the mountains of Anima."

"Wow...That sounds fascinating. What kind of monastery?"

"The Garden of Life and Death."

The room went silent. Luna was the only one unaffected, her cheerful tone and expression unchanged.

"The what?" Diana demanded.

"It's a Dualist temple."

"You're a duelist?" Diana asked, eyes lighting up. "Will you show me your techniques?"

Luna looked puzzled and Yuka stepped in.

"I think she means Dualist as is Dualism, right?"

Luna nodded and smiled, "Yes. My family is very devout."

"'Dualism'?" Diana echoed.

Yuka explained, "It's a belief system born from the brief planet wide appearance of the gods at the end of the conflict with Salem. Unlike many other religious groups, Dualists insist one worship both the god of light and the god of darkness in equal measure."

Winter already knew this but hearing it spoken out loud did make the name of Luna's home seem a bit less macabre. But then another thought struck her and she couldn't help but seek an answer.

"Aren't Dualists against the eradication of Grimm?"

Luna considered for a moment before answering, "Technically, yes. We see them as a creation of the god of darkness and therefore just as worthy of existence as all other creations of our lords. My family is a bit torn by my coming here. But as I see it, the lord of chaos and destruction must revel in even his own creations being destroyed. And the Grimm are so very aggressive that they threaten the rest of the Brothers' works."

"I think we've prodded at Luna enough, for now," said Winter. "Luna, why don't you ask someone else a question?"

"Very well. Ms. Yuka, from whence do you hail?"

Yuka pointed a thumb to herself and proudly proclaimed, "The streets of Vale, born and raised. My dad was a detective on the police force."

Before the conversation could move on, Diana asked, "'Was'?"

Yuka kept smiling but her whole body noticeably sagged as she explained, "Grimm attack. A couple years ago."

"Oh...shit. I'm sorry. Should have known better."

Yuka waved a hand and said, "It's fine. Gotta do this eventually if we're gonna be teammates, yeah? So, like I said, I've spent my whole life in Vale. And I know just about everything there is to know about this place so feel free to ask."

Winter nodded and said, "Yuka, why don't you ask a question next?"

Yuka turned to Diana and asked, "What're your three sizes?"

Diana blinked and frowned, "My what?"

"You know." Yuka made an hourglass shape in the air with her hands.

Diana gasped then glared at Yuka who looked totally nonchalant.

"Yuka! That is highly inappropriate!" Winter shouted.

Yuka looked puzzled and asked, "What? I'm just curious."

"Be curious about something else!" Diana demanded.

"Okay. Is all your underwear black and basic or do you have nicer ones packed at the bottom of your trunk?"

Diana turned bead red and lunged forward to punch Yuka in the jaw. Yuka took the punch without flinching, though it sent her to the floor.

"Q and A is over! I'm going to class!"

With that, Diana stormed out of the room with a bag slung over her shoulder. Yuka rubbed at her face, a red shimmer of aura still healing the area. She didn't look bothered by what had just happened and just stood and dusted herself off.

"What is wrong with you?!" Winter demanded.

Yuka only shrugged and said, "I try to learn about the things that interest me. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. But you'll never know if you don't try."

Winter noticed her eyeing her up and felt her whole body heat up. Hopefully Yuka took as little interest in her as possible! Yuka left for class, shutting the door and leaving her and Luna alone together.

"May I just say," Luna asked softly. "That I am honored to be led by one touched by the gods."

Winter furrowed her brow until she realized that Luna was talking about her eyes.

"Oh. Right. You know, I'm not really special or anything. I was just born with these eyes by chance."

Luna giggled, "Nothing is by chance. Fate gifted you with this power. And it has gifted me with this place alongside you on your path."

Luna bowed to her, actually, deeply bowed, and took off after the others. Winter sighed. That turned into a collosal failure. She needed to learn how to reign in Yuka, keep Diana from exploding, and stop this unearned benevolence from Luna. And she didn't have the slightest clue how to do any of that. Tugging fruitlessly on the back of her pants, trying to induce some slack, she headed for class.

...

"First, we need to establish basic ground rules. First, a schedule for changing in and out of uniforms daily. I'm willing to use the bathroom with my sister and give you two use of the room, provided that you don't dawdle or otherwise keep us waiting. Do we all agree?"

Colton nodded meekly. Richard gave no indication that he was or was not listening at all and eventually gave the smallest shrug Alessandra had ever seen. Hu, on the other hand, was still moping and staring at the floor.

"Good. Next, I've worked out everyone's schedules and added times when team activities will be most conducive to the rest of our schedules."

She handed them each a piece of paper to peruse. All but Hu-Huo who just let the paper float to the floor.

"I think you'll find I've been generous with free time. I don't want to try and rule over your lives but I would still encourage everyone to find time in their days for team exercises."

Colton raised and hand and asked, "Um, is she okay?"

He pointed to the still sulking Hu, shoulders dipping ever closer to the floor.

Alessandra waved a hand and said, "She's fine. Now, I've also printed out these forms that I'd like you all to fill out. It's just basic information, likes, dislikes, semblance, and magic you might possess. Once everyone's completed the form, we'll trade and study them, then..."

"She's your sister?"

Alessandra paused and stared at Richard. This was first time any of them had heard him speak.

"That's right."

He slowly blinked then shrugged and said, "Seems shallow. All these forms, rules, and no sympathy for your own blood."

Alessandra couldn't help but scowl. What did he know about her or Hu? Still, she was being disruptive to the meeting so she decided to speed things along. She stepped in front of her and gently took her chin into her hand, tilting her face upward to meet her gaze.

"Think of it this way," said Alessandra. "Now, you can have a fated meeting with any of the girls here."

Hu blinked then widened her eyes.

"And your first impression can be something cool, instead of hearing you snore because you share a dorm."

Hu started to smile and shot up to her feet.

"That's right! I can just casually drop in on her during a training mission, save her life at the last moment, all heroic and dashing! And I don't have to worry about messing up in the room because it's just you and people I don't care about in here! You're the best, sis!"

Hu gave her sister a tight hug then picked the papers up off the floor. She scanned the schedule in one hand and produced a pencil from a pocket to begin writing out her answers on the form in her other hand.

"What're you all waiting for? We have practical hunting skills in fifteen minutes! If we get there early enough, we'll have our choice of seats!"

Hu left, skipping and humming, without waiting for her teammates. Colton stared at the door, unblinking. Richard turned slowly back to his team leader who cocked her eyebrow.

He held up his hands, bowed his head, and softly proclaimed, "I concede."

Alessandra give a slight bow in recognition and said, "You'll get used to her moods eventually. She's always at one extreme or another but she's tougher than she seems."

Richard gave a little crack of a smile and said, "Good to know."

The door shot open again and Hu stuck her head in, shouting, "Come on, guys! I just saw team SUMN leaving! We gotta go know if I'm gonna sit next to Usha! And who knows? Maybe one of you will have a chance with the lovely Naomi?"

Hu winked and both Colton and Richard blushed and looked away. Alessandra just smiled, shook her head, and shoved her sister out the door.

"Don't worry," said Alessandra to the boys. "You also get used to her playing matching maker."

...

"So there we were, in the center of the arena, surrounded by Grimm of every size and description! Back to back in the fashion of warriors in their final stand! But did I ever believe that to be the case? Neigh! A proper huntsman never views himself as disposable! Even as we willingly risk our lives for others!"

Summer had been warned about Professor Port's stories but supposedly he was worth listening to once in awhile. But how could her very first class be a no doubt dramatized story with no apparent lessons in it? Weren't they supposed to be learning practical things like tracking and setting ambushes? What the hell a team leader's job was would also be a good lesson right about now.

The entire morning had been one long, awkward moment. Naomi and Usha seemed content to keep quiet, despite how active they'd been in the fight against that magic sucking Grimm. Then there was the new guy, Martin. Summer had been so shocked during the ceremony that she almost didn't recognize him this morning. She supposed he was rather average looking in most respects, lightly tanned skin, average height and build for a guy on the smaller side, and deep green hair he kept tied in a wolf's tail. He wasn't even looking people in the eye. Summer felt like she should say or do something but what? How could she instantly connect with these complete strangers? And why the actual hell was she put in charge of these people?!

While letting Port rant about "the sounds of a thousand claws scraping metal as they advanced" she looked around at her team. Usha was actually diligently taking notes from the looks of things. This was especially impressive given that Hu was sitting next to her and constantly drawing her attention away for some quiet chatter. Usha would just nod or give a short reply, eyes never leaving Port. Naomi and Martin, on the other hand, were half asleep. And she couldn't really blame them. And yet she also felt like she was already failing as leader. Should she chastise them? Lead by example and actually takes notes about a hot dog stand being used as an improvised explosive? Because that just was not happening.

Thankfully, Port did manage to pull away from his own storytelling long enough to give some practical advice on escaping dangerous situations. It was actually a nice place to start off since teaching them how to survive would probably keep them alive longer than teaching them how to kill. SUMN's next class saw them part from ARCH as they headed towards the sparring room. Summer was a little worried about how this one would go.

Standing in the center of the dirt ring, her signature scythe fully erect and planted like a flag, cape flapping gently, was the legend herself. AKA, "mom" or mother's favorite nickname for her spouse, "dolt" or "dunderhead" or some combination of the two. Summer could already hear the whispers of excitement at having the one and only Ruby Rose as a weapons and combat instructor. She was certain that many of the other students had traveled from the other kingdoms just to learn at her feet. What they probably didn't expect was someone who loves to make heart shaped pancakes for her family and cried at the sad parts of children's movies. Summer wasn't sure what she was expecting but the unknowns kept piling up into anxiety in the forefront of her thoughts. One the one hand, if Mom was a total embarrassment, that would probably destroy her. But if Ruby Rose was just as dazzling as people always said then where did that leave Summer? Her mom was only fifteen when she leading team RWBY into battle at the fall of beacon. And Summer wasn't even sure what weapon Martin used.

Yet when she locked eyes with her mom on her way in she simply smiled and gave a little nod. No one else seemed to notice so Summer nodded in return and found her seat in the stands with the rest of her team.

"Good morning, students! I am Professor Rose and I will be happily instructing you on the proper use and maintenance of weapons and equipment."

"Can I get an autograph?!" one boy suddenly blurted.

Ruby pointed at the boy with looking and said, "I'm sure the girl beside you will be happy to oblige!"

Every, including the boy, looked at the dour girl beside him, presumably his teammate. The boy and girl both blushed and looked away and no one else asked her for anything. The lesson was allowed to continue and Summer felt a strange sense of pride at how much better it was compared to the more seasoned Port. Her mom brought up diagrams showing things like how to find the true center of gravity of your weapon and how that affects the way you hold it or the ideal cutting or slicing position of a blade and how they aren't always the same thing. Summer and her team all took copious notes and she couldn't help but smile when she saw nearly all the other students doing the same, their hero worship overwhelmed by sheer competence.

They had some free time between classes so Summer hung around while the other students, including her teammates, filed out into the hall. Her mom waited patiently for the other students to all leave before nonchalantly sitting next to her daughter. The moment the door clicked shut Summer was engulfed in a thick red cloak and her chest was about to collapse in on itself.

"I'm so happy you're finally here! I can see you two every day now! You did so well on your test! They let me see it after they scored everyone and assigned teams! You were super cool!"

Summer pushed with all her might but her mom was simply too strong to budge.

"Mom! Air! Your child needs air!"

Ruby moved back to her own seat but kept her hands on her daughter's shoulders.

"I'm just so...!"

"Yeah, I know! Listen, mom...Can I ask you about something?"

Ruby blinked and set her joy aside for a moment. Her expression grew harder and lines of worry began to crease under her eyes.

"Of course, sweety. What's going on?"

"It's just...I don't think I'm cut out to be team leader. I have no clue what to do or where to even begin. I mean, what am I supposed to be doing right now?"

"Who says you have to do anything?"

"I'm leader! Doesn't that mean, I don't know, something?"

"It means that when the time comes, you're the one they'll look to for guidance. Just like they did in that cave "

Summer waved the comment aside and said, "That was a one time thing! I wanted to be a huntress, a fighter, not get weighed down with responsibilities for other people."

"Then leave."

The words struck Summer like a slap to the face. Did her mom just say she didn't want her at Beacon anymore?

Ruby smiled and took Summer's hands into her own.

"Summer, this isn't just some job. Whether you're alone or working as a team, lives will always depend on you. That doesn't just mean your skills as a fighter. It also means your ability to make decisions that will affect people's lives. Which mission do I take? Do I chase after my target or let it go to protect a civilian caught in the cross fire? I saw your test and evaluations. When it matters, you make the right call. Because when it matters, you have the guts to act."

Summer looked into her mom's eyes and tried to find the lie within them, the falsehood designed to protect her daughter's feelings. She wasn't completely sure but she couldn't sense any deception, any attempt to spare her feelings.

"But what about when their isn't a crisis? What do I do then?"

"Then they're your friends. Don't make this more complicated than it needs to be."

Summer sighed and said, "Okay. I guess I'll just let things progress naturally. Then, once I feel more comfortable, everything will be okay."

Ruby laughed, "You never get more comfortable. Not even when you're teaching a class about something you've done a million times. You're always gonna be scared, Summer. You have to learn to turn the fear into an old friend."

Summer didn't really get the last part but she felt better. This time she was the one to hug her mom, albeit with far less force. Their embrace was broken up by both of their scrolls going off at the same time. They both pulled away and checked their screens.

"There's an intruder on campus," Ruby said seriously. "Gather your team and head to your dorms."

Summer had been reading virtually the same message on her device and nodded. They walked quickly together down the hall but split after less than a minute. Summer found herself turning to say goodbye out of pure habit but all she saw was her mom's back, cape flowing in her wake. Right. This was real. No time for niceties. She called Usha first and she picked up after the first ring.

"Summer? Do you know what's going on?"

"Are the others with you?"

"Martin is. Naomi took off right after class. It was weird, like something spooked her. Last we saw her we were walking through the quad."

"Okay. You two get back to the room. I'll find Naomi."

She hung up without another word and dialed Naomi while hurrying to the quad. The scroll buzzed and rang but all she got was the default recording to leave a message. So she started sprinting. She had a bad feeling about this.

The quad would have been completely empty if not for the few students still walking towards their dorms and one group lying under a tree and being scolded by (she assumed) their leader. No sign of Naomi. Summer tried her scroll again, hoping that by some miracle she was close enough to hear the ring tone. No such luck. However, while checking her phone she discovered something. As leader, her scroll had data on her teammates, including their location. Usha and Martin had already turned their locations off, as they'd been instructed to when they'd received them. The teachers had said that the tracking function was only for missions and that, other than the privacy concerns, there was still the drain on the battery to consider. But Naomi, apparently, never turned hers off. And she wasn't far.

Summer followed the signal towards the main entrance. Right after leaving the quad she was completely alone. No dorms or classes were in this direction so it made sense that everyone was behind her. Everyone but the two figures she saw in the distance.

Summer approached quickly but cautiously. If this person was dangerous then she didn't want to set them off while they were standing beside Naomi. She kept near the administrative building to her left and got behind a decorative pillar, peeking out around the corner. It was as close as she could get without being spotted.

Naomi and the other person were struggling. He, and it was definitely a man, was grabbing her arm and dragging her towards the entrance. He wore clothes similar to Naomi's during the test, all animals hides. But he wore several layers of thick pelts, almost like a robe of deep browns and a few light tans. His dark brown hair was very long and wild, including his untrimmed beard. And upon closer inspection, Summer saw why Naomi was having such trouble pulling away from him. The nails of his hands were extended into claws that dug into her flesh, her aura flashing yellow where he made contact.

Summer tried to listen in on their conversation while tapping away on her scroll.

"...not stayin..!"

"Please...! ...no harm to...!"

"You ain't...! ...Worthless...! ...how many times...?!"

They were clearly arguing and by the trembling in her voice, Naomi was terrified. Both of them jumped when a long metal cylinder suddenly landed a few feet from them, descending from the sky and implanting into the ground. With his attention turned away from her, Summer went unnoticed as an almost identical cylinder landed beside her. The front popped off and she retrieved her weapons. She had them pointed at her target just as he took notice of her.

"Let her go!" she shouted.

Naomi blinked, eyes welling up, "Summer?"

The front of the other cylinder exploded outward to reveal a large hammer, Naomi's weapon. She looked between Summer, the man, and the weapon. She cried out as she ripped herself away from the wild looking man, flesh tearing as her aura failed to fully protect her from the puncturing nails. She grasped the hammer in both hands, arm bleeding freely, and bared her teeth at the man.

"I'm not going anywhere with you!"

The man got...quiet. It was strangely horrifying. His shouting had been intimidating even when Summer could only catch every other word. But the silent fury in his eyes was worse, much worse. She took a small step forward, ready to lunge in if he made a move towards Naomi.

"You're mine, girl," the man hissed. "Ain't no fancy school gonna change what you are."

Naomi faltered, her eyes looking down at the ground.

"She's not anybody's!" Summer shouted back. "And if you have a problem with that, then you have a problem with...!"

Summer lost her words. She'd blinked and suddenly there was a new figure standing behind the grizzly looking man. The rose petals only fluttered in afterwards, making the man look about in confusion. Ruby Rose, legendary huntress, slayer of monsters and would-be gods, placed a gentle hand on the man's shoulder, making him jump at the sudden contact.

"Excuse me sir. We'd like to have a word with you, in the office."

She smiled pleasantly, face fair, cheeks rosy. Her tone was warm and soft. The man's eyes went wide. He started to frown but the slightest pressure on his shoulder, her grip tightening, was all the warning he received. Somehow, even Summer could feel the threat, the implication. The fact that her mom was so casual about it, so happy to avoid any violence yet somehow so clearly willing and able to handle it if necessary, made her ten times scarier than this guy had ever been. She was like a movie monster, a little girl with pigtails and the power to swallow you whole.

He deflated and grumbled, "Fine. We'll talk. But my girl's coming home with me!"

Ruby nodded, "Right this way."

She led the man away but he stole a glance back at Naomi who shuttered. When they entered the nearest building she collapsed onto her knees, supporting herself with her hammer. Summer froze, unsure what to do while Naomi appeared to be hyperventilating.

"Uh, hey...Are you okay?"

It was a dumb question. Of course she wasn't okay! She'd been attacked! She was on the ground about to heave! If it had been Winter or Hu she would have embraced them. But could she do that with a total stranger? Would the physical contact just upset her more after being pulled at like a stubborn mule?

Summer approached her slowly, crouched down, and put a hand on her shoulder. It seemed like a nice middle ground.

"It's gonna be okay," she said. "My mom will take care of it. You won't see him again."

Naomi looked up at her, eyes swelling with tears, "Promise?"

Summer hesitated. Could she really make that promise without knowing all the facts? But saying nothing seemed like a far worse option. So she steeled her expression and nodded. Naomi calmed down after that and stood up with Summer's help. Summer slowly led them back to the dorm.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" she asked.

Naomi was silent for a moment then said, "That was my dad. He wants me to come home."

"He doesn't want you to be a huntress?"

"He doesn't want me leaving at all. We lived in a really little community. No communication to the outside world, not a lot of electricity. The first time I rode in a car was when I came to Vale."

"Wow. That's pretty amazing in its own way. So, why does it matter if you leave?"

"It's just...The first settlers were faunus who wanted to live in peace but didn't want to be crowded into Menagerie. It's just a handful of families living so far out in the middle of nowhere that even the Grimm hardly ever show up. It's hard living. We hunt for our food, store up for the winter, keep indoors doing almost nothing when the snow comes to conserve heat. It's just such a bleak, nothing kind of life. I guess my family is afraid that if I can leave, other people will too? And too many people leaving means the whole community falls apart. Or maybe they just don't like change? When they had to call in a huntress to deal with some Grimm they couldn't handle when I was a kid the whole town was furious. They hate everything associated with the outside world. But she was cool and kind and not afraid of anything. She told me stories about the world, about floating cities and ships bigger than my whole village that sailed across an ocean so big you'd see nothing but blue all around you. I guess I just selfishly wanted some of that, is all."

Summer frowned, "What makes it selfish? What's selfish is trying to force someone into a life they don't want to satisfy your own needs. What's selfish is trying to physically force someone to do what you want when you're supposed to love and support them no matter what."

Naomi shrugged, "I don't know. That's how my family sees it, at least. He said I don't belong here, that I'll never be part of this world."

"Bullshit! My cousin is a part of 'normal' society and she's a total weirdo! Vale, any of the kingdoms, are made up of all kinds of people."

Naomi blushed and said, "I'm just afraid I'm gonna say or do something stupid." She produced her scroll from a pocket and added, "I don't even know how to work this stupid thing."

That probably explained why she hadn't turned off her locator. Usha and Martin figured it out on their own from basic knowledge of using electronics. But no one had actually showed them precisely how to do it.

Summer put her hand back onto Naomi's shoulder, which was difficult given their height difference.

"We'll all teach you whatever you need to know. And I promise, I will never think less of you for not knowing something."

Naomi sniffled and wiped her eyes, "Thanks. Oh! Do you think your mom can handle him? My dad's actually really strong."

Summer considered for a moment then asked, "You have no idea who my mom is, do you?"

Naomi blinked and said, "I thought it was Professor Rose? You two look alike and have the same name and all."

Summer smiled and patted her shoulder, "Naomi, you and I are gonna be good friends."

Naomi's face lit up like a kid who'd just been offered candy.

...

"It's a good thing I had time to make so many! I figured we'd just be eating them for a few days but this works out even better!"

Everyone was gathered in the cafeteria. Teams ARCH, SUMN, and WYLD had lunch at the same time and ended up naturally moving together, taking up two whole long tables just for themselves. Usha had been the last to arrive, grinning and telling her teammates about a surprise she had for them. She arrived just after the others had sat down with their food with a tray of her own. She set it down and everyone made appreciative noises at the platter stacked high with chocolate crepes, steam still rising off of them.

"How did you even manage this?" asked Alessandra.

"My parents own a bakery just off campus. The security alert messed with classes so I had a lot of free time. Plus, I had some help from my parents. They were originally meant for everyone in SUMN but I always think sharing food is better with more people."

Hu swooned, "You also bake?! Oh, Usha! I love you even more now!"

Usha just smiled, the comment either going right over her head or not phasing her outwardly.

Alessandra moved in a blur, hands grabbing at the wrists of both Winter and Summer. Each of them had already grabbed one treat and were reaching for a second.

"Lunch first, desert second!" she said sternly.

Summer bared her teeth and bit at her cousin's hand. Alessandra gasped and pulled away while Summer started to munch on her prize.

Usha laughed, "So, you really like sweets?"

Summer blushed and kept quiet. She'd been enjoying her status as a cool team leader after helping Naomi through a crisis. She didn't like her childish side coming out so soon after.

"I just really appreciate your gift and wanna experience it."

Usha beamed aa cute smile and Summer felt a little embarrassed.

"I must admit, this is strange for me.  
Strange but nice!" Winter suddenly said. "Being around so many new faces, I mean."

"We should make this a regular thing," said Colton. "Especially if we get free..."

Alessandra swatted his hand as he reached for the platter.

"Ow! Hey! She got two!"

"As team leader I'm putting my foot down! Eat your, Hu?!"

Hu was holding a crepe and trying to get Usha to feed it to her. The two of them fought over the pastry and Colton used the chance to sneak one of his own. Usha found herself caught between Alessandra and Hu-Huo and had to move around to avoid being covered in chocolate. Meanwhile, Naomi was quickly devouring her food, taking the comment about getting desert only after her lunch very seriously.

"I wanted to ask you two something."

Everyone froze and turned to Richard. Other than his teammates, no one had heard him speak before. His eyes were downcast but he was clearly looking towards Summer and Winter.

"Your eyes. Why didn't you use them sooner?"

They stared at him, puzzled.

Naomi, mouth full of potato, added, "Hey, yeah. Was that some kind of magic?"

Now all eyes were turned to Naomi.

"You've never heard of the silver eyes?!" asked Diana.

Summer moved in quickly and said, "She grew up in the sticks. One of her reasons for coming here is to learn more about life outside her home."

The answer seemed to satisfy Diana, though she still eyed Naomi suspiciously. Naomi let out a sigh, relieved the situation hadn't escalated.

"To answer your question," Winter explained. "We can only do it under certain circumstances. And it isn't easy either. We were taught to use it as a last resort."

"And it is a sort of magic," Summer said to Naomi. "Kind of. Nobody really knows for sure."

Richard nodded, barely, and turned to the other pair of sisters.

"And that stuff you were doing in the cave?"

Hu looked to Alessandra, not sure how much to reveal.

"We do know a little magic," said Alessandra. "All four of us. Hu and I also have natural talents for fire and shadow magic."

"But it's cool, we're all registered."

Hu held up her scroll. The screen showed an official license with her face, name, information like her height and eye color, as well as a large text section that read, "Class C specializing in Elemental (Fire)".

"Registered for what?" asked Naomi.

Summer explained, "If you learn any sort of magic you need to be registered with one of the research institutes that specialize in it. Otherwise people will freak out and think magic users are everywhere and can do anything, walk through walls, control minds, whatever. By monitoring what magic everyone can use and how their skills progress and limiting who gets access to what knowledge they can make sure no one's abusing their abilities."

"I assume you're registered with MPII?" asked Yuka.

The girls all nodded. It was a safe bet. After all, everyone knew that Weiss Schnee ran the Metaphysical and Preternatural Investigative Institute. It only made sense that they'd study there, if anywhere.

"No more boring stuff!" Hu demanded. "So, anybody got someone special waiting back home?"

Her eyes darted straight for Usha. Most of the others got sheepish, save the team leaders who all groaned or rolled their eyes.

Usha just replied, "No one."

"Really?" Hu lowered her eyelids and began leaning towards Usha. "Because I think we can..."

Alessanda grabbed her by the back of her shirt and pulled her back.

"Baby steps, Hu," she sighed.

"I'm not seeing anyone either," Naomi said casually. "There were only, like, three guys that were my age and single back home. I did sort of hope to meet someone out here."

Colton remembered Hu's teasing from earlier and very pointedly did not look Naomi in the eye. Richard seemed unaffected while Martin became very focused on his meal.

"Anyone else?" asked Hu. "I'd also be open to talking about past partners and crushes."

"If we talk about all YOUR crushes, we'll be here until morning," Summer taunted.

Hu sneered, "Don't get mad at me just because you're jaded and haven't grown up enough to feel adult emotions."

Summer ground her teeth, "Really? Another short joke?"

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

The two of them stood in their seats and leaned forward, foreheads pushing against one another.

"I have a fiance back at the monastery."

Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to an almost bored looking Luna.

"What?!" everyone shouted at once.

The bell rang and lunch was over. Luna stood up and started cleaning up without another word. Everyone else could only shrug and say their goodbyes. The three teams parted ways and went back to classes. To keep from wrecking the schedule, classes were pushed back an hour or so rather than canceled due to the security breech. This meant that everyone had a late dinner and didn't get back to their dorms until late. Summer didn't want to push anything so while she, Usha, and Naomi were happily chatting about Vale, two of them feeling a sense of wonder through Naomi's eyes as she marveled at nearly everything they said, she left Martin to his corner. He would look over occasionally and she would offer him an olive branch into the conversation. But he would always give a brief answer and then go back to whatever he was doing on his scroll. Did he have a problem with them? Maybe he was anti-magic and had something against her after their discussions at lunch.

The lights dimmed and then brightened again, a sign for lights out. Without needing to be told, Martin stood up, gathered his things, and headed for the bathroom. Well, at least he was being considerate. The rest of them disrobed and put on their sleepwear. That meant a loose gray shirt that fell down one shoulder and black pajama pants with red roses for Summer and a very elegant and lacy purple nightgown for Usha.

"Are, uh, you all, um, done?" came a muffled voice from behind the door of the bathroom.

Summer almost answered immediately but wanted to double check with the others. She saw Usha was showing off quiet a bit of cleavage and pale legs but she was covered and could make her own wardrobe choices. She blinked as she turned to Naomi and her jaw dropped. The girl was totally naked! She was ever stretching, her muscles tightening visibly while her breasts bounced around. Summer tried to call out but couldn't remember what she had been about to say. Naomi was impressive, muscles accenting her figure, her long body contourting gracefully. While Summer was stunned she heard Usha giggling. She was also looking at Naomi with interested eyes.

"Uh , we're all good?" said an uncertain Naomi while she stretched.

Summer shouted, "No!"

But it was already too late. The door opened and Martin stepped out wearing a black tank top and green sweatpants. He froze when he saw Naomi, her back turned to him and backside presented as she bent at the waist. He blushed so hard he turned purple and ran back into the bathroom, door slamming behind him.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Sorry! I'm so sorry!"

His voice cracked and went up and down in pitch as he shouted his apologies. Naomi stood up and looked curiously at the door.

"What'd you do?" she asked.

"Naomi!" Summer screamed. "Put some clothes on!"

Naomi stared at her blankly and said, "I only have my uniform and battle outfit. This is how I always sleep. Is that a problem?"

Summer stammered, trying to figure out where to begin. Usha still tittered, dealing with the situation surprisingly well by Summer's estimation.

"Naomi," she giggled. "People aren't usually naked around others they just met. Especially those of the opposite sex."

Naomi gave a frightened puppy dog look and whined, "But I don't have any other clothes. I spent all my money on Breaker."

"Well then, we'll just have to improvise. Martin? Please give us a moment."

"Uh huh..."

Usha dug through her bag and found a long white nightgown. Of course, on the amazonian Naomi, it didn't quite cover her butt when she moved. So Summer offered up a pair of her pajama pants, annoyed when they became short capris on the much taller girl.

"Okay, you can come out now," Summer declared.

Martin sheepishly opened the door, making sure to peek around before exiting. When he saw everyone was dressed he let out a sigh and sat on his bed, head in his hands.

"I am so sorry..."

"Relax!" Summer chuckled. "Naomi's just...a free spirit. This is gonna take some getting used to for all of us."

"I just didn't want this to be my first impression...I grew up on a farm with nothing but brothers and male cousins. I don't have a lot of experience with girls and I don't wanna make a fool of myself."

"Is that why you're so quiet?"

Martin nodded. Summer put a hand on his shoulder and he looked up at her.

"Well, you already get points for being so considerate. How about we promise to cut you some slack in exchange?"

"That'd be really nice," he huffed.

Usha approached him and suddenly buried him in a hug.

"Let's be good friends from now on, okay?"

Martin couldn't respond because his face was buried in her ample bosom. Summer didn't know whether to laugh at Martin, be shocked at Usha, or just be jealous that it wasn't her in that embrace. She shook that thought away. No reason to go seeing her teammates in that way. Of course, that was how she and her sister came to be...

"I'm sorry," said a melancholic Naomi. "So there's so much I don't know about. And I promise I'll get my own clothes somehow."

Summer smiled and rifles through the hoodie's pockets.

"Don't worry about. Tomorrow, I'll teach you about another modern marvel." She triumphantly held up her prize, a small dark piece of plastic with some numbers and a white snowflake on the side. "The black card."

As lights were extinguished and beds filled with tired new students, the leaders of teams ARCH, SUMN, and WYLD all thought of their progress. Alessanda wondered if she'd be able to control her sister in this setting while also being a good leader. Hu, meanwhile, was already asleep and dreaming of a certain Baker making her breakfast in nothing but an apron. Summer felt confident in the progress she'd made with her teammates, her new friends. They were all so different and interesting in their own way. Usha was cute as a doll, but more worldly than she would have expected. Naomi was just the opposite, imposing in stature and personality but niave to the world. Then there was the shy Martin. She wondered what he would be like in the field.

But Winter was exhausted. She'd spent the last thirty minutes talking down a huge argument between Yuka and the entire rest of the team. Ultimately, it was ruled that no one could tell Yuka what to do with her own body. So it was that they all turned to look away as Yuka stripped down to nothing but a pair of small blue panties before climbing into bed, the others rushing to get redressed into sleep clothes before the "detective" could turn her lecherous eyes upon them. How did Winter know what her underwear had looked like? Well, maybe not everyone had averted their eyes for the whole time. Maybe she was more of a lech than she'd like to admit. She was still stunned to learn that Luna was already engaged. She wondered what her partner was like. Male? Female? A fighter like her? Or maybe more of a homemaker? Then there was Diana, still barely talking, still clearly agitated by something more that Yuka's inappropriateness. It was going to be hard to get to sleep.


	10. Flock Together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long delay. Housewarming parties, job interviews (wish me luck), and minor illness have taken a toll on my free time. Also, I've been working on touching up the previous chapters for typos and grammatical errors, some of which were...pretty embarrassing. I swear I proof read everything before I post it! But now my fiance is going to go through everything for me and will check chapters before I post them from now on so hopefully errors will be brought to a minimum. Unfortunately, she's the one who's sick so I'm holding off on posting the edited chapters for a bit so I can get her final input. Thank you for your understanding and for your time in actually reading this. Please give me your input, anything that comes to mind. I can't promise a steady flow of chapters right now but hopefully things will calm down on my end and I can get back to a more regular pace.

“Stay back! We need to lure it in!”

“I've got this!”

Winter ground her teeth as Diana, once again, ran headfirst into danger and out of formation.

“Get back here this instant!” she demanded, unable to leave her own post.

The Nevermore was medium sized for its breed but still large enough to bite any one of them in half. The plan had been to lure it into swooping down at them. The limited open space of the forest trail where they laid in wait would hinder its movement and give Luna a chance to clip its wings. But once she saw a target presenting itself Diana just bowled straight in. Luna look down at Winter from her perch higher up a tree.

“Um...Miss? Do we follow her?”

Winter watched Diana meet the massive bird's charge head on. Blue lines of energy shot across her body with every step she took until finally she planted her feet and braced for the inevitable impact. The mighty beak of the Nevermore pounded hard against her shield and pushed her several feet back, her heels digging into the dirt. But the moment it made contact with the metallic disk it completed the circuit of electrical energy Diana had created within herself with her semblance. The beast howled a terrible screed of pain and collapsed onto the ground, its moment spent. Diana laughed to herself and brought up her spear.

“Watch it! Luna!”

Luna understood her leader's words perfectly and dropped down from her cover. On the trail she had a better shot. She raised a large black and gold crossbow to her shoulder. The cylindrical loader cycled through a few options before she pulled the trigger twice and rapidly fired two dark bolts into the sky. Diana looked up in shock, spear still ready to impale the downed Nevermore, when she saw two more of the creatures swooping down at her, talons out wide and ready to capture their prey.

Each felt a surge of pain as a tiny bolt of metal sank deep into their necks. But they were creatures of Grimm, the ultimate manifestation of the dark god, death incarnate. Their bodies would hold together under such minute distractions as this.

What they did not realize, could not realize, was that each bolt had tied to it a small, white piece of paper with identical symbols written in dark ink. Down the trail, Luna closed her eyes and focused. She whispered a prayer to the god of light, lord of order and stasis. A tiny mote of blue-white light began to encircle her head just as an identical light shined on both the scraps of paper. The Grimm realized their mistake too late, never fully understanding how or why they felt a sudden, powerful pull to their side, like a giant grabbing the napes of their necks. The giant birds were forced together by the attraction of Luna's magnetic spell, crashing midair and falling hard onto their fallen comrade. Diana leaped back at the impact, still not adjusting to the new situation.

Meanwhile, Winter had rushed forward, swords trailing above and behind her like a halo of steel. She manipulated the controls in her gloves and surrounded the cluster of Grimm with her blades before plunging them down into their dark flesh at various angles. The creatures howled as their bodies let off black smoke and began to fade from existence.

“Excellent work, ma'am! Well executed!”

Winter rolled her eyes beneath her visor. Luna's constant compliments were fraying her nerves. Diana didn't seem to appreciate the undue praise either as she once again showed her teeth and scowled at Luna while she looked on in awe at their leader. Winter turned to sat something back to Luna but almost bit her tongue off as she was shoved from the side and fell to the dirt.

“Watch it!” Diana shouted, her spear folded into its ranged form.

She emptied both barrels into the Nevermore that rained down from the east on a direct course for Winter. Luna rushed over to help her leader up.

“Are you alright, miss?!”

Winter swatted her hand away and shouted, “I'm fine! Secure the area!”

Luna cringed and did as she was told. Winter stood and dusted herself off before pulling her scroll out of a pocket. She extended it and brought up Yuka's contact and tried to connect. But the damn line was busy! Damn it! Yuka was supposed to be watching for more of them. Who was she calling in the middle of a mission?

A series of screeches brought her pondering to a halt. The three of them looked all around but couldn't find the source. That is, until dark forms began to dart out from between the trees to the east. They'd assumed the Nevermores couldn't fit within the forest itself due to their large wingspan. They never imagined the things would turn completely sideways, wings almost touching the ground, to knife fly their way through the gaps in the trees.

Luna fired off bolts that exploded on impact, basic Dust filled projectiles that didn't require magic to pack a punch. Winter tried to stay defensive, the readout on her visor a useless blur of yellow lines that tried to follow the movements of the hulking mass of darkness. Her swords stayed close to her body, two of them in her hands for quicker and more precise movements. The other six largely acted as shields as she swatted at the huge birds that got too close for comfort. Diana, meanwhile, made herself a small target behind her shield, shotgun roaring in an angry retort that was swallowed by the mad song of the Nevermores. The shield produced spikes around the edges and Diana charged it with electricity that bounded from one tiny spire to the next. Occasionally a Nevermore would venture too close and be stung by a small bolt but it wasn't enough to deter them. The sea of beaks and talons never seemed to end and each second wore down their defenses that much further. A few bumps, then scrapes, then clawing and biting strikes that whittled their auras down to dangerous levels.

A series of popping noises were followed by a wave of heat and concussive force that washed over each of them. Blinding lights forced them all to shut their eyes and when they opened them again the flood of enemies had been lowered to a trickle. They spared a glance to the side and found Professor Brawn standing off to the side, arms extended forward. His massive frame easily carried his weapon rig on both arms and shoulders. The missile pods on his shoulders were now empty and smoking, having just saved them from being overwhelmed. The olive skinned giant wasted no time in charging to the rescue, his fist meeting the charge of a Nevermore head on. His already meaty hand was made even larger and heavier by the full metal gauntlet that covered it. The momentum of the swooping Grimm was halted and then reversed so violently it hit then snapped two trees. Professor Brawn then held each fist out and produced a trio of machine pistols around each one. The Nevermores from the start of the assault had done a full circle and were charging again. As the professor took up his stance, Yuka appeared beside him, shield extended and pistol drawn.

“What're you waiting for?!” he screamed at the stunned trio. “An invitation?!”

They each blinked and turned towards the swarm. Bullets, bolts, and icy projectiles met the line of feathers and talons. When the dust had settle and everyone else felt a surge of relief, Winter felt only anger. Her swords returns to their sheaths, lest she do something drastic, as she stormed over to her teammate.

“What were you thinking?!” she shouted at Diana, her face getting dangerously close to hers. “The plan was to create a safe zone and pick them off one by one!”

Diana scowled, unimpressed at the tirade.

“We won! And without taking the coward's way out!”

Winter stepped back, “'Coward's Way'?! You mean the strategic way! The way that keeps us all safe and alive to fight another day! I am sick and tired of your...showboating. What would have happened to you if Luna hadn't been so quick to react?!”

Diana started to reply but it died in her throat. Even she couldn't deny that she had been in trouble before Luna had steeped in. She gritted her teeth and looked away. Satisfied, Winter turned on her next target.

“And you! Where the hell were you?! Why we could not contact you?! Why didn't you warn us about the Nevermores?! That was your entire job!”

Yuka looked away and scratched the back of her head. She'd been positioned high in a tree to look for potential threats from the east. Reports had indicated the flock of Nevermores had been heading that way and they'd planned on taking out stragglers for a bit before going after the main group.

Winter went on, “I bet you were calling some poor girl, more concerned with your sexual appetite than your teammates, as per usual!”

“Hey. What do you mean 'poor girl'?”

Winter ignored her, her rage unabated. She turned on her heels and pointed at Luna who nearly fell over at the sight of the offending digit.

“And you! I do not need you throwing flower petals wherever I walk! I need you looking for potential danger! Not checking to see if I need my boots polished! I am normal girl! Not god sent! Not special! I am so sick and tired of all the...!”

“That's enough, girl.”

Professor Brawn didn't raise his voice. He didn't have to. The deep, gravely baritone carried itself without need for much volume.

“You are the leader of this team. Their failures are yours. You should have dealt with these personal issues long before taking a field assignment.”

Winter frowned. He was right, to a degree. All of this, Diana's bluster, Luna's obsession, Yuka's lack of commitment, had been issues for weeks. But she had no clue how to address them without just pushing everyone away. The way she just had...

The professor squinted into the distance then pulled out a set of binoculars to get a clearer view. He sighed.

“Looks like the flock heard our little scuffle. And they aren't stupid either. Which is good for us. They're fleeing rather than swarming and killing us. But dealing with them just got a whole lot more complicated. Good thing we packed extra supplies. Come on. We've got a lot of walking ahead of us.”

The professor started walking through the forest without another word. None of the girls were willing to look anyone else in the eye. And so they trudged along in a heavy silence.

The walking continued until the daylight began to fade. No one said a thing and only Professor Brawn seemed unaffected. Once the sun had begun dipping below the horizon he stopped and ordered team WYLD to make camp. Wordlessly, everyone found a duty for themselves that kept them isolated. Diana set up tents and sleep rolls while Luna got a fire and food ready. Winter and Yuka both went for firewood but in opposite directions. As she gathered bundles of sticks into her arms, Winter could no longer hold her anxiety at bay.

Had she done something bad? How were they ever going to be a team now after she'd berated them like that? But what else could she have done? What was the right way? Surely Diana and Yuka, at the very least, wouldn't change with gentle words alone. Winter had been hoping they'd just change over time out of necessity. But apparently their own desires trumped the need to work effectively as a team. She frowned. At the very least, sitting by and waiting for the situation to resolve itself was her own fault. It had been less of a strategy and more of a hope to avoid responsibility. That fell on her, whatever else might be true.

She paused as she realized she'd been wandering around for the past few minutes, no longer picking up firewood. She looked around, frightened for a moment that she'd lost track of camp. A slight crunching of leaves and twigs had her dropping her bundle and put her into a crouch, hands on the hilts of two of her swords. When she saw Yuka appear from behind a tree she sighed and stood up. Yuka hadn't noticed her yet and when Winter saw the scroll pressed to her ear she froze again.

“I understand...No, not really. She's a bit hard to get close to, honestly...Okay...Yeah, I understand. I'll do it...I'll try...Love you too.”

Winter couldn't help but gasp. Who had Yuka been talking to? And did they realize what a shameless flirt/pervert she was? Regardless, that was no a conversation she should have been privy to. While Yuka put her scroll away and started adjusting the wood in her arms, Winter made her escape back to camp. She was soon followed by Yuka. Winter was sweating on the inside. Did she know? Should she have said something?

The group all gathered around the fire and had a basic meal courtesy of Luna. Winter couldn't help but notice that Luna served her first, as she had the previous nights. She just sighed and accepted the food before sitting down to a quiet meal. Everyone but Brawn are slowly. When the girls were half finished he stood up and declared that he would be the first to watch the perimeter. He stepped off into the darkening woods. More awkward silence. Painful, almost tangible silence. This was first broken by Yuka. She took in a sharp breath before speaking.

“I'm sorry I haven't been taking this more seriously. I will from now on.”

No one spoke but it was different that before. Winter felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Maybe her outburst hadn't been all bad after all.

“Apology accepted,” said Winter. :Please realize that this is a deadly profession we have all chosen. We need to be able to rely on each other, no matter what. Also, making us feel uncomfortable off the battlefield doesn't exactly engender trust.”

Yuka laughed, “You're all just too cute not to tease.” She winked at Winter who had to fight to maintain eye contact. “Honestly, I've never been good with repressing myself to make others happy. I'm sorry if I've made you uncomfortable but I'm just being honest.”

Luna reached out a hand and placed it gingerly on Yuka's shoulder.

“I understand. You're a free spirit. And that can cause friction with other people.”

Diana growled, her arms crossed, “She flipped my skirt up in the middle of the hallway!”

That made everybody pause. Winter remembered that “incident” and had been glad she'd elected to wear pants around her “free spirited” teammate. Yuka blushed and tilted her head.

“M-Maybe I could tone it down? Just a bit?”

Winter spoke quickly before things could escalate further, “I think that is fair. Also, I should apologize for blowing up earlier. It's my job to make sure we all work well together and I've been idling in the hopes of you all figuring it out yourselves. Being thrown into this together is obviously going to be a hard adjustment and we all need to cut each other some slack.”

“I'm sorry too, miss,” said Luna. “I suppose I didn't realize what sort of pressure I was placing on you.”

“Honestly, it wasn't that. I just think you need to consider your other teammates, and yourself for that matter, more than you do me... That's not entirely true. I am uncomfortable with people trating me differently because of my eyes. I've had...bad experiences. Please, think of it no differently than a semblance.”

Luna nodded, her lips disappearing as she considered Winter's words. All eyes turned to Diana, who still frowned and kept her arms crossed in front of her. She scowled back at them, her mood unchanged.

“What?”

Winter frowned, “Okay, what is your problem? I understand you being upset at Yuka's antics, I truly do. But what is it about being on this team that bothers you so much? What do you feel like you need to prove?”

“That I'm better than you!” Diana barked.

Winter blinked, “What? Why? What did I ever do to you?”

Diana grit her teeth, fists tightening until her knuckles turned white.

“Because I...lost. You beat me. So now, I've gotta even the score! Prove I'm not a loser!”

“Beat you how?” Luna asked in her regular, dulcet tone.

Diana pointed a finger accusingly at Winter and shouted, “How come she's team leader?! I'm stronger and faster! Braver!” Her breathing came faster and held a tinge of a sob, “So why? How come she gets a free ride for being a professor's kid?”

Winter pressed her fists to her hips and asked, “What does my mom have to do with this?She wasn't even a part of the entrance exam!”

Diana rolled her eyes, “Oh, sure! Because she didn't need to be! You and your brat sister were marked from the beginning!”

Winter stood and stormed over to Diana. Her expression was ice cold as she sent a right hook into Diana's cheek. Luna gasped and Yuka's face went slack. Diana's cheek was an angry red and her eyes were wide at what had just been done to her.

“My sister...” Winter's voice was cold but held a tremor of barely contained rage, her fist visibly shaking. “And I worked out asses off to get here. I spent months with my master getting real life training. We studied magic on top of the regular curriculum. We spent sleepless nights and exhausting days dreaming about becoming huntresses. Don't you fucking diminish that because your ego cannot take it. If you want to prove yourself more worthy of this position than me, act like it. Being leader does not mean abandoning your teammate to make yourself look brave. It does not mean looking down at them or blaming them for your problems. I might have been given a title, and I know I still have a long way to go to have earned it, but no one can make anyone else a leader. You either are or you are not.”

Diana frowned at the ground, thoroughly chastised. Luna stood and gave three small claps.

“Well said miss. And I truly do mean that. Perhaps we should all take this opportunity to try and be better teammates?”

Winter nodded, “I'm willingly to try. And please, Luna, just call me Winter.”

Luna gave a little bow and said, “Very well, Winter.”

Then she stood up and held her hand out in front of her, high over the fire. She looked around at the others who sheepishly began to stand with her. The four of them gathered in a loose circle and joined their hands in the center. Winter beamed. She'd done it! It wasn't all over, they were still far from where they needed to be. Emotions were raw but the healing had begun and this first step felt really good. A loud cough broke the spell.

“Rose, you're next on watch,” grumbled Professor Brawn. He then promptly fell onto a bedroll and said, “Anyone who wakes me up is getting left behind.”

Within seconds, he began to snore. Loudly. The girls looked at each other and began to laugh, even Diana's dour mood fading as they tried to quiet themselves.

“Why do we even have a watch?” Yuka whispered. “It's guaranteed every Grimm within five miles is gonna find us!”

“that's the point,” said Diana/ “Hell, we should all just go out and fight them now. It'll be quieter than staying here.”

Winter left with a spring in her step to check the perimeter. As darkness fully enveloped the woods she felt strangely hopeful. Tomorrow was going to be a brand new day.


	11. Day Off

Hu-Huo bounced down the street, her enthusiasm clear in both her smile and her light gait. It was infectious. Colton made an effort to keep up with her and the two of them spoke animatedly about their mission. Alessandra found herself grinning at the energy of her team, proud of their success. Even Richard stood somewhat straight as he walked, though his eyes darted about in a way that suggested he didn't like being on such a crowded street.

Team ARCH had successfully completed their first field assignment. Granted, it hadn't gone as planned, but that just made it even more impressive. Things had gone completely sideways and they'd pulled through anyways.

The mission was a basic escort, sitting in a convoy of vehicles as they trudged through dense jungle to bring in supplies for a new settlement. The site had defense of their own but Grimm were still a threat along the route. Alessandra had assigned her teamed based on their strengths. Colton's semblance was a good alarm so he went with the forward scouts to look for threats. Richard never seemed to sleep and lived on coffee so he got the night watch. She herself handled the daylight hours watch while her sister, too energetic to bear sitting in a single vehicle and looking out a window all day, was in charge of checking in on everyone while they moved. The vehicles in the main convoy moved slowly enough that it was easy to move between them even in transit.

It was supposed to be a short trip, and ultimately was, but at one point the entire mission seemed up in the air. After minimal contact with the Grimm for the first leg of the journey, disaster struck in a different manner. While traveling down a steep decline in the trail, one of the large transport trucks lost traction and started to spin. The driver managed to keep it from flipping but the rough ride down had been over jagged stones and at high speeds. The main axle had bent and much of the undercarriage looked like a cheese grater from the shrapnel-like rocks that had shot up into it during the rapid descent.

Then the arguing had begun. Everyone had a different version of events. The driver of the truck insisted that the truck in front of him had slammed on their breaks. That driver insisted that he had been riding her bumper too closely. Another driver said he saw something run beneath the truck just before it spun out while yet another insisted that the whole thing wouldn't have happened if they'd used his cousin's mechanic service instead of the company's regular maintenance service. Alessandra and her team plus their adviser, Professor Goldman, could only look on in frustrated awe at the pigheadedness of it all. After shaking her head, the professor had tried to play mediator. And failed. Professor Goldman was a master tracked and marksman but her people skills were...well, she was great with dogs. But it turned out that truck drivers didn't respond to shouting and commands the same way hounds did.

But when an earsplitting cry pierced the air and left them all woozy and clutching their ears they all stopped shouting. Alessandra's heart dropped into her stomach when she heard it. That was Colton's semblance, a sound blast so powerful it could shatter glass. If it was using that instead of calling for help on his scroll, and using it at such a high power as well, then things were not going well with his group.

It was at this point that Alessandra forced her way into the conversation.

“How long to fix the truck?”

The crew had looked at each other, no one willing to take charge. So she pointed a finger at the driver of the nearly flipped truck, forcing an answer from him.

“Uh...probably, like, six hours? Maybe if we...”

Alessandra shook her head, “Too long. How long to get the supplies out of that truck and into the others?”

He scratched the back of is head and mused, “Well, there's the weight limits to consider...”

“Just get it done! Hu, stay here and keep a lookout. The rest of us should head to them immediately. Right professor?”

Back in her element, Goldman had nodded her approval. Hu wasn't slow, but she was the slowest one in their group. Plus, she was strong enough to look after the crew on her own if more Grimm appeared, a likely event if they started to panic from the situation. So the rest of them had taken off at full speed. Alessandra arrived ahead of the others through short, controlled bursts of her semblance.

What she'd found had been a mess. Overturned vehicles, some of them charred in places, wounded scouts huddled at the base of a tree, two of them still standing with rifles in shaking hands. And then there was Colton. He was bleeding from his shoulder and some of his clothes looked burned, like they'd caught fire and been quickly put out. Despite the freely flowing blood, he gripped both of his weapons tightly, teeth gritted against the pain.

The creature was unlike anything any of them had seen, save Professor Goldman. It was long and serpentine but possessed dozens of short, stumpy legs that nevertheless propelled it along at the ground at great speed. As it approached Colton it reared up, the four front most legs now acting like hands as they raked at him. He opened his mouth wide and let loose another sonic blast that disoriented the creature so much that it stumbled, its attack forgotten. Alessandra felt nauseous being so close to the blast, her ears ringing for several seconds afterwards. Friendly fire was the main reason Colton only used his ability in dire straits.

The creature was huge, dozens of feet long and thick enough to swallow a person whole. Despite this, it moved quickly enough, once it recovered, to spin and smash its tail hard into Colton. He flew through the air in the blink of an eye, too fast to catch. Unless, of course, speed is your semblance. Alessandra caught him mid-flight and set him down gently.

“Hey boss,” he said weakly. “Glad you could make it.”

He winced as she unintentionally put pressure on his bleeding shoulder.

“Stay here,” she told him. “Professor Goldman is with us, she'll...”

Alessandra looked behind her and cut herself off, standing and drawing her swords in one fluid motion. The creature loomed over them, thirty feet tall as it reared up for an attack. It slowly opened its narrow maw, razor sharp teeth glistening. As it descended and Alessandra took up a defensive pose it was struck in the side of the head by a thick beam of light blue energy. It turned to face Professor Goldman, her heavy rifle shouldered and already firing a second shot. Apparently she'd taken it by surprise last time because now it didn't flinch. Instead, it kept its mouth open and produced a crackling blue glow within its maw. It seemed the burns Colton had suffered had been electrical burns. As the energy coalesced, a streak of black descended towards the monster.

In total silence, Richard had climbed a nearby tree, massive in this region, and leaped straight down towards the beast, his greatsword leading. The impact cracked the bony plate that covered its face and sunk the weapon deep within the creature, which howled and flailed in pain. The beam of electricity went off in random patterns as it thrashed about. Richard held on for dear life while trying to extricate his weapon. When that didn't work he activated it instead. The exterior layers of his blade burst apart into dozens of smaller metal shards, digging even deeper into the Grimm and eliciting another wail of agony. Now holding a much thinner, though still long, straightsword, Richard leaped off his living platform and landed next to his teammates. With an effort of will, he called on the segments of his sword which spun and tore their way free from the Grimm's skull to float gently back into place on the straightsword, locking into place and reforming the larger weapon.

The Grimm moved back onto all its legs and attempted to retreat, its impressive speed outpacing the huntsmen. But not Alessandra. She ran along its back and found the crack Richard had made for her. She drove Retribution and Justice down to their hilts and pulled them apart, trying to widen the wound. This worked for a moment. Until the beast began climbing a nearby tree in a spiral at such speed that she lost her grip. One of her swords stayed buried while the other flew with her into the dirt, her body forming a small crater. She pushed herself up onto her arms and looked up at the charging energy blast aimed right at her.

Professor Goldman put an end to that with one well placed shot. Her own energy beam penetrated the now gaping wound in its head and shot out the other side. The electricity crackled and died as it fell in a massive heap to the base of the tree.

The rest of the trip had been trivial compared to that little episode. But the Behir, as Professor Goldman had called it, was a highly dangerous monster that students wouldn't normally be sent to handle. Yet they'd pulled through, slaying the beast, saving the crew, and keeping each other safe. Alessandra normally liked to work her team hard but she knew they'd earned a reprieve. Even Hu was commendable for her patience in staying with the civilians instead of running off into the fray, dealing with a few smaller Grimm that had been attracted to the panic and fear of the crew.

So today they were not huntsmen and huntresses. She'd insisted they take the day off of studying and training to just relax in the city. They'd had a lazy morning then gone to see a movie, though it had turned out to be less than memorable, and had just finished a late lunch. The sun was still shining and they were all just wandering about while wondering what they should do next.

“So...what're we doing?” came a dour voice.

Richard had a way of cutting to the heart of any situation with his words, when he spoke at all.

Alessandra shrugged, “Whatever we want. Thoughts?”

Hu raised her hand aggressively and said, “Oh! Oh! There's a Citrus Punch concert going on nearby! I think they sell tickets at the entrance.”

Colton chuckled, “A pop concert? Yeah, not really my scene.”

“How could it not be?!” Hu started to dance to a beat only she could hear. “All that energy, the excitement, the performance, the costumes, the screaming fans! Makes you feel alive and makes you appreciate it!”

The others all groaned and rolled their eyes. She wanted to go for the screaming girls and the attractive singers. Why else would she go anywhere?

“Uh, my family's shop is close by,” Colton offered. “We could check it out?”

Alessandra's eyes twitched as she failed to contain her interest. Colton had mentioned the store before but it had completely slipped her mind.

“That sounds fun,” she said, hoping she didn't sound weirdly eager.

Hu-Huo, meanwhile, pretended to gag.

Alessandra rolled her eyes and said, “We'll split up then. Richard, who do you wanna go with?”

“I think I should stick with Hu. No offense but a bookstore doesn't seem interesting to me. Plus, we don't want any...incidents at the concert.”

They all stared at Hu, who was too excited to care about their mean, judgy eyes. She grabbed Richard by the arm and ran off, literally dragging him along. Alessandra felt a pang of guilt. But, he had volunteered...

That left her and Colton alone on the trek to “The Midnight Archive”. It was such a pretentious name for a bookstore and Alessandra loved it. Colton had described his father's pride and joy on one occasion during the start of the term. Apparently, he themed the store around stories of heroes coming across mysterious sources of knowledge like reclusive wizard towers or huge, underground libraries. It sounded amazing!

She was so focused on their destination that Colton had to nudge her to get her to notice the scene before them. The street was packed with people holding up signs and looking up at a man on a literal soap box. For authenticity, perhaps? He used his scroll as a megaphone to speak to the gathered crowd. As the pair drew closer, they could read the signs.

“Down with Darkness!”

“Science > Hokus Pokus!”

“See the Light! Magic=Grimm!”

Seeing where this was going, Alessandra tried to quickly guide herself and Colton through the dense crowd.

“The people are finally seeing the truth about the Reborn! They attacked our city, our youth, by making pacts with Grimm! Yet the people still do not listen to reason! They want quick solutions to complicated issues! But what will happen when our food supplies and defenses are all controlled by magic? Forces we don't understand! Forces controlled by a select elite who hoard secrets and power for themselves! It is up to every one of us to spread this important message to... Wait! You! Stop!”

Alessandra froze and slowly looked over. The man was pointing at her and dozens of eyes now turned to look at her. This was not going to end well.

“I recognize you!” the man barked into his scroll as he stepped into the crowd. “You're one of them! A Scion!”

Alessandra winced at the title. It was what the Reborn had started calling her, Hu, and their cousins. When they were young, the Rebirth movement had floated around the theory that being born to powerful parents right after magic began flooding the world again made them some sort of messiahs. Their mothers had successfully kept them away from the Reborn and eventually the furor died down, at least in public. But it seemed that some people still remembered those days.

“Just trying to do some shopping,” she said plainly.

He ignored her as he approached through the crowd, voice still amplified by the scroll. None of the other rally goers seemed convinced either, if their scowls and harsh murmurs were any indication.

“You were there, at the attack. Can you honestly deny the dangers of magic now?

Alessandra crossed her arms and frowned, “I think magic is dangerous. I also think Grimm are dangerous. And guns. And combustion engines. And most machinery. Everything is dangerous when used improperly.”

“But even if I hoarded guns, that wouldn't mean I could level a city! Magical power can be accumulated and unleashed like nothing else in this world!”

Several people shouted their agreement and shook their homemade signs. Before she could respond, Colton stepped between her and the shouting man.

“Don't bother, boss. You know what they saw. Don't feed the trolls.”

The man blinked in astonishment then growled, “You don't know me! Let me tell you about...!”

Colton opened his mouth just slightly and released a small blast of sonic force. The crowd all screamed and clutched at their ears, including the speaker. He dropped his scroll and Alessandra, somewhat used to Colton's blasts at even stronger levels, blurred forward and caught the device before it hit the ground. The stunned man blinked and numbly accepted the scroll as Alessandra forced it into his hands.

“Those were our semblances,” she explained. She held out her arms to the crowd and continued, “Something all of you have, whether you know what it is or not. Magic is scary. Lots of things are. But that fear only goes away with understanding. You like to talk a lot about hypotheticals. Here's one for you. What if there's another Salem out there? A relic from the past, bristling with magical power? We would only stand a chance by understanding what that power was, how to control and nullify it. Think about that. And maybe get you information from someone not standing on a box.”

Alessandra turned and forced her way through the crowd, not caring who she bumped. Colton was on her heels, eyes peeled for troublemakers. No one moved towards them and they were silent until the pair had moved far down the road.

“I heard about the Naturalists getting riled up but didn't expect to see it so close to Beacon.”

Alessandra nodded. They'd all seen the news after their entrance exam. The Naturalists were quick to blame the Rebirth movement, which in turn issued its own declaration that the incident was a false flag operation. They accused the Naturalists of setting the whole thing up so they could blame the Reborn. The shouting matches in newsrooms around Remnant were reaching epic proportions.

“Ignorance knows no border,” said Alessandra.

“Are you okay?”

She sighed, “I'm fine. People have been talking about me and my family my entire life. It isn't always glamorous.”

She left out her childhood fear of being snatched up by the Reborn. It was too much to explain and she simply did not feel like digging up those memories at that moment.

They made it the rest of the way unmolested. Alessandra's eyes sparkled at the sight. Caught between two modern buildings was what looked like an ancient library of handcrafted dark wood and stained glass. The sidewalk even swapped to old cobblestone directly in front of the shop. Colton could see the anticipation on her face but didn't bring it up. It was nice to see her happy after being dragged down by those knuckle draggers at the rally. They stepped through the heavy wooden door, setting off a bell as they did. Alessandra breathed deeply, savoring the musty smell of old paper and bindings. The interior was just as rustic as the facade with high shelves and rolling ladders holding rainbows of tomes in different colors, shapes, and sizes. There were no signs indicating what shelf held what but Alessandra went to the closest one and started thumbing through the titles.

“Dad's got his own organization system,” Colton sighed. “I used to work here and I probably couldn't tell you where anything was, given how much he changes it.”

Alessandra narrowed her eyes and considered, “This aisle appears to be nautical themed. Novels about ships, maps, navigation manuals, adventure novels taking place on the ocean.

Colton scanned the titles. He couldn't identify many of them but the ones he did recognize or could figure out from the title seemed to match her assumption.

He laughed, “I think you might be right. Only one way to be sure. Dad?!”

There was a loud thump from somewhere deeper in the building followed by the sound of heavy footfalls. The man that appeared was a strange mishmash of archetypes. On the one hand, he was dressed in almost comically regal clothing, including a long ruffled coat, the white offsetting his dark complexion, shined boots, and what looked like actual pantaloons. But on the other hand, the man was a bear. He reminded Alessandra of her grandpa Ghira. He was tall, broad, and his head was a mess of hair. Or else, it would have been a mess if he hadn't kept it neatly combed and tied. Not only did his hair include a decorative tail, one that fell along with his loose hair, but his beard was also tied up with two red ties, one near the top and the other near the bottom. He was carrying three large boxes Alessandra suspected were filled with books. And when he saw his son, his face lit up enough to brighten the entire store.

“Colton! You should have said you were coming!”

He rushed to set the boxes down gently on the floor then swallowed his much more average sized son in a vicious embrace. Colton proved strong enough to endure it and even return a powerful squeeze of his own.

“It was a last minute thing so I decide to surprise you. Settle something for us. Is this the new nautical aisle?”

His father's eyes twinkled, “Yes! I knew you'd still recognize my work! See? It isn't as 'crazy and confusing' as...”

Colton held up both hands and said, “ Actually, it was my friend who guessed it. This is Alessandra, my team leader.”

Colton's father turned to tower over her. It made her smile. It reminded her of being a little girl and hugging her grandfather's leg, staring up at him like a mountain she wanted to climb. And sometimes she did.

He held out a hand and said, “Milo. Milo Luna, at your service. Thanks you for taking care of my boy.”

The handshake was intense and nearly took her off her feet. But she maintained her stance and dignity. Barely.

“It's good to meet you too. Colton described your store to be but words can't do it justice! I want to spend the whole day getting familiar with it.”

“Don't get too attached,” called a high voice from behind the shelves. “It'll be in a completely different order by tomorrow.”

The group turned the corner, led by Milo, and came across a long checkout counter. It looked more like a bar, only with books, pens, journals, and bookmarks on the back shelf instead of spirits. A light skinned, slender woman with short dark hair in a deep burgundy turtleneck and thin wire glasses was sitting behind the counter sipping something hot from a mug and reading a book.

“It forces people to make new discoveries!” Milo insisted. “Allow me to introduce my wife, Yue Honya.”

She nodded and held up her mug in a salute, “The wicked step-mother.”

Colton smiled, “Oh, the worst. All those casseroles.”

Yue scowled, “I've learned to cook other things! I swear, you make one too many casseroles and suddenly it's your thing!”

Milo chimed in, “I think Colton was nine before you made him a sandwich, Yue.”

Yue scanned the books behind her. As she turned, Alessandra could see a furry wolf's tail sticking out from the back of her jeans, slightly curved and unmoving. After checking a few more closely, she selected one and hurled it at her husband. He let it hit him square in the face so it would fall into his arms and he could catch it.

“Oh, Yue! Not 'Love, Honor, and Zombies'! It's going to be a cult classic!”

Alessandra was beaming. This place was already so warm and inviting. It was like a second home. One with possibly just as many books as she had back in Menagerie. She let the mirth of the moment wash over her and took a moment to look around while the couple bickered amiably. The ceilings were vaulted, leaving plenty of space for windows and tall bookshelves. There was a second floor that overlooked the first, connected by a spiral staircase. There was also someone on that staircase, a small form that struggled to take each step while carrying a medium sized box.

“Carrie! Sweetie, let me take those!”

Milo cut his argument short and rushed over to take the box away and set it down on a nearby table. The girl was small and slender, her face and glasses making the connection with Yue obvious. Her hair was even shorter than her mother's, almost boyish. It made her impish face look fresh and cute. She didn't seem to have much meat on her bones, her body type easy to determine from her shirt and covering tank top and skin tight leggings, even with the short skirt that went along with it. If her body type and face hadn't been enough to label her as Yue's daughter, the wolf's tail would have been a dead give away. The only sign of obvious heritage from Milo was her caramel skin, though it was lighter than Colton's. Her tail had been straight down while she carried the heavy boxes but now wagged lazily as Milo took the burden from her arms.

“Thanks dad,” she wheezed, pushing her glasses back up her nose.

“Might as well meet everyone,” said Colton. He held out a hands as he led Alessandra over, “This is my half-sister, Carrie Honya. Care, this is Alessandra.”

Carrie started to look downward, her glasses shifting down once again. Then she forced herself to look Alessandra in the eye and pushed her glasses up once again.

“Uh, nice to meet you.”

She didn't offer her hand for shaking and Alessandra didn't push the issue.

“You as well. Do you work here?”

She figured Carrie was her own age or younger but helping out around the shop seemed well within her abilities.

Carrie nodded and dared a shy smile, “I love it here.”

Alessandra smiled and nodded, “Me too.”

Carrie's smile widened and she brushed a bit of hair behind her ear. Alessandra felt a strange twinge in her chest. It was almost like a stomach ache or a cramp but not painful. She also felt warm. Very warm. A lot warmer than she had felt earlier. As she pondered why this was she realized that she was very, very aware of Carrie's adorable face. She licked her lips, finding them suddenly very dry, then coughed, her throat feeling just as parched.

“Would you like something to drink?” Carrie offered. “We have a small cafe in the back.”

Alessandra nodded and let herself be led to drinks while Milo went back to his wife to rant about young adult fiction and how reader expectation needed to change with the times. Alessandra was glad to walk in silence for a time. What was wrong with her? Sure, Carrie was pleasant to look at, but she found her gaze falling back to her over and over again. Her gait, her cutely swishing tail, her round cheeks and smooth skin. Why was she so attracted to her? Maybe it was just hormones. Being team leader, to her sister and two boys no less, had left precious little time for “privacy”. She'd curl up with a smutty novel tonight and flush it from her system. She'd be no good to anyone if she were distracted like this during a test or mission.

When they reached the small cafe in an alcove of the store Carrie moved behind the counter, ignoring the bored looking teen manning the register and playing on his scroll.

“What would you like?” she asked her guest. “We have coffee, juice, energy drinks, for some reason, and tea.”

“Some chamomile with lavender, if it's not too much trouble?”

Carrie nodded, “I like chamomile as well. Just a moment.”

Alessandra expected her to use a machine to quickly brew the tea in a minute or so. Instead, she reached below the counter and produced a small kettle which she filled in a nearby sink and placed onto a section of black counter top. She turned a dial on the side and the section near the kettle turned red hot. Alessandra was surprised once again when, rather than a teabag, Carrie produced jars of spices and tea leaves from the same place beneath the counter. She quickly washed and dried her hands in the sink then used her bare hands to measure out and add the necessary ingredients, including a few sprinkles of things Alessandra didn't recognize. Once satisfied with the portions, she stirred the contents with a wooden spoon before covering the kettle and setting it on the heated section of counter.

“So, um...you're a huntress?” Carrie asked.

“Not yet. Just in training. Like Colton.”

Colton laughed, “I promise she doesn't bite, Care. In fact, when I told her about this place, her eyes were as big as saucers and her ears went nuts!”

Alessandra scowled to try and drown her embarrassment in anger, her ears flattening by reflex. Colton shouldn't see her like that. She was his leader, not his kid sister! Who also appeared very flush and embarrassed. Her downward gaze and darkening cheeks were so freaking cute that Alessandra almost forgot to punch Colton in the shoulder for his teasing.

“Ow!”

Almost.

“So, what do you read?” asked Alessandra.

Carrie gave her a few fleeting looks in the eye but mostly kept them downcast.

“Oh, just about everything. I study, I read up on obscure history, whatever magic stuff I can get my hands on, and then there's the more common stuff, fantasy, sci-fi, and, uh,” she coughed and looked away. “A few romance novels, sometimes. Usually just romance combined with something else.”

Alessandra smiled, “Must be tough to find an 'obscure history slash romance' book.”

Carrie giggled, “You'd be surprised! There's even a while book based on this theory that Salem and Ozpin were actually once lovers and...”

The kettle started to whistle and Carrie took it off the burner. She produced two cups and grabbed an energy drink from a mini-fridge. She gave a withering look to Colton who snatched it from her hand, popped the top, and began guzzling it. Carrie ignored him and daintily poured herself and Alessandra a cup of steaming tea. Alessandra gingerly tasted it. It was soothing and filled her body with a relaxing warmth.

“This is great,” she said honestly.

Carrie rubbed at the back of her head and stammered, “Th-Thanks.”

Alessandra laughed softly and took another sip. She couldn't help but smile while looking at this girl. She found herself picturing her curled up in a big chair with a copy of “The Break of Dawn”, the smut she planned on losing herself in later. She imagined Carrie's eyes widening at the rising passion, covering them out of embarrassment but peeking between her fingers, unable to stop herself.

Huh. This was an odd amount of attention she was giving this girl. She really needed some time alone.

She and Colton stayed in the store with his family until the sun began to set. Alessandra hadn't seen nearly enough of the store for her liking and planned to return as soon as possible. As they walked out, she called her sister to see where and when they should meet back up. Not getting a response, she called Richard instead.

“Uh, hello?”

It was a little hard to hear him over the background noise. Seemed they were still at the concert, or somewhere else with a lot of people talking and moving about.

“Are you guys almost finished? Colton and I are ready to head back.”

“Um, I'm ready, but...”

Alessandra rolled her eyes, “Don't worry. Whoever she's attached herself to, I can...”

“She's gone.”

“...What?”

“Hu. I don't know where she is.”

Alessandra let out a long, frustrated sigh.

“We're coming. Meet us at the entrance and we'll look together.”

“Okay...Sorry.”

He hung up first. Alessandra groaned.

“Not good news, I take it?”

She gave Colton a tired look and started looking up directions to the concert on her scroll. It wasn't hard to find. It was being held in a large park that had been fenced off for the event. They didn't even need to buy tickets because the show was already over. The park was still filled with fans milling about, taking pictures, and chatting animatedly. They must have been what she'd heard in the background of the call. Richard was easy to find since he was the only person in the whole park wearing black. Everyone else was in bright colors, mostly yellows and oranges.

“So what happened?” Alessandra asked the moment they found him.

To his credit, he looked her in the eye as he explained, “We go separated. This placed was packed. Tried calling but it was also really loud. Figured we could meet up after the show finished so I left. But when I called she didn't pick up. Then you called.”

As ever, his explanation was brief and to the point. It also didn't help find her sister, however.

“Okay,” she sighed. “Spread out and start asking around. Call if you find anything.”

The park was large but still mostly empty. The remaining concert goers were huddled into groups so information gathering was a bit easier than it would otherwise be. A few people remembered seeing someone matching Hu's description. They also described her as “jumping way up into the air and screaming.” Apparently she'd enjoyed the show. A few female fans also mentioned her flirting. While most appeared flattered, they all admitted to turning her down. Several of them claimed to have boyfriends or girlfriends while others swore they were saving themselves for various members of Citrus Punch. None of this was helpful and Alessandra was starting to get nervous. She'd cleared her section of the park when she got a call from Richard.

“I got something.”

The threesome regrouped and shared what they'd found. Colton had heard a few similar stories to what Alessandra had found, though the girls he'd spoken to had been far less amused by her advances. Richard had been the only one to hir pay dirt.

“Some guys say they saw a group of girls all leaving the park together. They tried to go with them but a faunus girl with yellow hair scared them off.”

“Sounds like her,” said Colton. “Any clue where they went?”

Richard held up his hands, “Just down Primrose Ave, towards Beacon.”

They immediately set off down the road. It was starting to get dark and Alessandra was getting more and more anxious. She tried calling again but still got nothing. When that failed, they resorted to the most basic of methods.

“Hu! Hu, where are you?!”

“Hu, come back! Answer your phone, Hu!”

“What?!”

They all looked around for the source of the response but only found a confused looking woman holding hands with an equally confused looking man. Glancing around at the sea of similar expressions, is struck them all just how much Hu-Huo would be loving this if she were there to experience it.

Alessandra ran a hand through her hair and said, “This isn't getting us anywhere. Where would she be taking a bunch of girls?”

Colton scratched his chin and mused, “Somewhere a group of people can hang out. Like a movie or something.”

“Karaoke.”

Alessandra and Colton both turned to stare at Richard. He kept his usual lazy stare and slowly shrugged. It wasn't hard to find the nearest karaoke bars on their scrolls. It also wasn't hard to find out who had been to them in the past hour or two since the people running the front desks were helpful and allowed them to search through the closed off rooms where patrons ordered food and sang for one another. Only she wasn't at any of the four places they checked. Alessandra checked the two closest while Colton and Richard went for two further out. When they called in to each other Colton had the idea to check other likely date spots, thinking that Richard had the right idea. They arranged to meet up again so they could come up with a search pattern. As she approached the side street they agreed to meet at, Alessandra brought up her aunt's information. It rang once before a recording picked up.

“Hey all! Rubes here. I'm away on a mission for the next few days. Should be super simple so no more than a week, probably less. If you require a huntress, please contact Beacon Academy or your nearest huntsmen outpost. If you're a student with a question, please see Headmistress Goodwitch. I promise she'll be nice. Probably. And if this is Weiss, yes I remembered to pack the thing. No matter what you think I forgot, I totally didn't.”

Alessandra sighed and started to dial the school. If nothing else, she should check in and see if anyone there knew where Hu-Huo was. Maybe she'd gone back and her scroll was dead? Before she could hit send there was a shuffling sound behind her. She almost got her hands up in time before an arm wrapped around her throat from behind. She dropped the scroll and tried to pry the arm away from her windpipe to no avail. So she tried to stomp on their foot and jab an elbow into their gut. But they shifted in a circle with every attempt, dragging her along and avoiding her foot while minimizing the impact of her elbow. Whoever this was, they knew what they were doing. She had no weapons and her vision was starting to go red.

So she dug in her heels and ran straight forward. Normally this wouldn't accomplish much. But with her semblance she was halfway down the deserted street in under a second. She'd expected her attacker to let go but apparently they were very dedicated to choking her out. They held on for the ride, their feet leaving the ground as the two of them rocketed forward. Part of Alessandra's semblance braced her for the sudden drop in speed when she reached her intended destination. This also applied to anything, or anyone, she was carrying. But there was still a jolt of G-force from the sudden acceleration and deceleration. Her attacker couldn't brace for the stop and slammed hard into her back. The pair went tumbling in a heap but the pressure on Alessandra' throat had ended. When they finally stopped, Alessandra looked around and found a dark suit lying next to her. She shot up onto her feet and jumped back several feet.

The assailant slowly pushed themselves up, eyes burning into Alessandra's. She couldn't tell if they were a man or a woman. Their face was fair and gaunt, their light blue hair short and swept straight back. They were tall and thin, their body showing neither curves nor the hardness of a man. They were wearing a black suit with a blood red tie and a pair of black gloves. Their expression was cold and serious. Alessandra watched their eyes dart across her body and surroundings, analyzing their plan of attack.

“Nice suit. I take it you work for Ebony?” Alessandra huffed.

Her throat ached and she still had to catch her breath. Hopefully, this would-be assassin would talk long enough for her to recover.

“Ms. Xiong,” they chastised. “Wishes to have a word with you.”

Their voice was neutral and business like, even as their eyes began to narrow. Alessandra bent her knees, bringing her center of gravity lower to the ground. She blinked and just managed to catch sight of her attacker drawing a pistol from their jacket. Her eyes widened as the entire weapon glowed white and two small motes of dim white light circled the barrel. The gun went off and sent a large sphere of light straight for her face. Alessandra activated her semblance again while sliding forward, the shot flying inches above her head. The assailant casually adjusted their aim and fired again. Alessandra leaped straight up and the sphere collided with the pavement. Not only was a large chuck torn out of the street but the surrounding asphalt was distorted for over a foot in every direction in waves, like ripples in the surface of disturbed water.

They fired off a third shot but not before Alessandra planted her feet against a nearby building and launched herself towards them. She had to moved her head aside to avoid the bullet which tore a large hole out of the wall behind her, glass smashing as the distortion around it reached a window. She aimed a lightning fast kick at their head but their arm moved up to block their still stoic face. Fortunately, it was their gun hand that blocked and now the pistol was pointing harmlessly straight up. So they quickly pulled another, smaller and more conventional looking pistol with their other hand and started firing off multiple rounds at their target. Alessandra ducked out of the way, some of the normal rounds slamming into her aura. She swept her leg down low to trip them but they hopped up high enough to dodge and brought both their weapons to bear. Alessandra took wild but calculated swings at their upper body, aiming to force them to block with both arms so they couldn't keep firing at her. It was a close fight, the two of them moving in tight circles, bullets flying whenever they managed to line themselves up.

A faint glimmer in the corner of her eye made Alessandra jump back. Her assassin must have also seen it because they too moved and avoided the large spinning blades that had been aimed for their head. Slayer, Colton's aptly named swords, lie embedded in the street in their combined form. Colton appeared next to his weapon a moment later, carefully eyeing the assassin as he retrieved it. They never flinched or showed any signs of distress. They simply aimed a weapon at each of the students, waiting for them to make the next move.

The didn't have to wait long. Richard silently charged in behind them and took an overhead swing of his greatsword down at their head. Without blinking or looking at the surprise attack they took a step and dodged the attack by a hair's breadth. As Richard started his assault Colton moved in as well, Slayer unfolding into two separate weapons in his hands. The assassin wasn't shooting anymore but didn't seem to have trouble dodging their swipes, sometimes swatting the boys' hands away with their own. Richard reversed his grip and attempted to spear his sword downward into their their thigh. They spread their legs out wide and the weapon sank into the ground before Richard was kicked hard in the chest and sent back several feet.

Alessandra returned to the fray in Richard's place. She'd looked around but couldn't find her scroll to call in her equipment locker like her teammates must have. So she used her fists and feet once again to tie up the attacker's hands and tried to give Colton an opening to put his swords to good use. But this person, whoever they were, was good. They weren't overly fast, not compared to some of the more seasoned fighters Alessandra had seen. Instead, they moved in an almost lazy fashion, using the least amount of movement possible to avoid an attack. The whole time their expression never changed, an almost bored look but with darting, calculating eyes.

Eyes that went wide when the sound of metal scraping against metal exploded behind them. This time they did turn and saw Richard's sword burst apart into dozens of smaller blades that all hurtled towards them. This time, rather than dodging with their impeccable grace, they held up their arms to try and block as much shrapnel as possible. Dozens of impacts caused a powder blue shimmer of aura all across their body. Alessandra took the opening and smashed a fist hard into their sternum and drove them down to the ground. Colton quickly followed up with his blades, pressing them both tightly against the would-be assassin's throat in a cross pattern. Everything went still. Everyone went silent.

“Who are you?” Colton demanded. “What do you want with her?”

Calm as ever, they responded, “Ms. Xiong has business with your friend. I was paid to bring her in by any means necessary.”

Richard gawked, “Ebony Xiong?”

Alessandra winced and rubbed her arm, “Hu and I had a run in with her. It didn't end well.”

Colton tensed, his blades edging even closer to flesh and flaring more blue aura.

“Boss?”

“Yeah, I know.” She crouched and put her face close to her attacker's, teeth bared, jaw clenched. “What did you do with my sister.”

They shook their head, “Nothing. My job was to bring you in.”

“You must know something else. Talk or else we'll turn you in.”

“There's nothing for me to tell you. I don't ask questions or get unnecessary details. Keeps things simple.”

Sirens were beginning to close in on them, probably only a block or so away by now. The downed assassin slowly reached into their pocket. Colton was the only one to notice.

“Don't move!” he shouted, pressing his blades closer in an attempt to fully shatter their aura.

But when he pushed on his weapons he felt no resistance. A small mote of lime green light rapidly encircled his target, starting at the hand in their pocket and quickly working around their entire body. Their form faded into the light which grew three times its original size. The ball of light shot off into the night, too fast for even Alessandra to hope to catch. The three students stared blankly at the empty space where their prisoner had once been and the quickly vanishing light in the distance. The sirens grew ever closer and police cars quickly closed off the street at both ends. The trio held up their hands, throwing down whatever weapons they were holding, as the officers left their vehicles and apprached, guns drawn.

“Please, just send someone to the Den, at the very least!” Alessandra pleaded. “It couldn't hurt just to check it out!”

They'd given the details of the attack to the officers. The police seemed skeptical, especially the part where the perpetrator disappeared into a ball of light, but without the attacker or any weapons on scene that could have caused the strange damage to the area there wasn't any reason to charge the young fighters.

“I'm sorry, miss. We'll file a missing person's report and start asking around about your sister. But there just isn't enough evidence here to to suggest foul play. Ms. Xiong, in spite of prolific rumors, is a well respected member of the community who makes regular, generous charitable donations to many fine, accredited organizations.”

Alessandra frowned. That line was too rehearsed to be anything but a warning. She knew that Ebony Xiong had at least a few cops in her pocket. The city in general had always been reluctant to look closely at her businesses due to her “generous charitable donations”. Without hard evidence it would be nearly impossible to get anyone official to take her seriously. Even the school might have their hands tied.

As the police began to drive away Colton and Richard both looked over at her.

“What do we do, boss?” asked Colton.

She took a deep breath and release it. Her eyes grew cold and calculating.

“Whatever we have to.”


End file.
